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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: squash · band · net · prune · craft · shower · cabinet · face

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. band — a ring
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. net — in sport
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. face — part of the head
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. shower — rain
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. squash — to crush
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. face — to confront
  17. squash — the sport
  18. shower — to wash
  19. prune — to trim
  20. net — after costs
  21. face — to point toward
  22. net — for catching
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. craft — a skill

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