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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: bulb · shower · wind · game · rash · degree · straw · prune

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. rash — hasty
  5. bulb — for light
  6. shower — rain
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. prune — to trim
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. game — a match
  11. degree — from a university
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bulb — for light
  15. rash — a series
  16. degree — temperature
  17. shower — to wash
  18. wind — moving air
  19. degree — an amount
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. game — wild animals
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wind — moving air
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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