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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 124 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: content · prune · shower · pop · jam · leaves · dip · kick

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pop — music
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. shower — rain
  6. prune — to trim
  7. pop — to visit
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. dip — to sink
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. content — the amount
  19. kick — in football
  20. shower — to wash
  21. prune — to trim
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. pop — soda
  24. content — videos and posts

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