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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: plane · shower · degree · prune · hide · pit · rash · foot

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. degree — an amount
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. foot — a measure
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. shower — to wash
  11. pit — a hole
  12. shower — rain
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. degree — from a university
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. prune — to trim
  17. plane — a tool
  18. rash — hasty
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. rash — a series
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. prune — to trim
  23. degree — temperature
  24. hide — animal skin

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