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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wake · present · hide · prune · straw · row · shower · cell

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wake — a trail
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. shower — to wash
  7. row — to paddle
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. present — the time now
  10. shower — rain
  11. prune — to trim
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. present — there
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. cell — a phone
  21. present — a gift
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. row — a line
  24. prune — to trim

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com