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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 116 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: club · prune · shower · spell · field · bat · deal · sharp

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. field — a subject
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. prune — to trim
  11. club — for dancing
  12. shower — to wash
  13. sharp — clever
  14. field — farmland
  15. deal — to handle
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. club — a group
  18. spell — magic
  19. shower — rain
  20. club — for golf
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. field — for sport
  23. spell — letters
  24. spell — a short time

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