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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: jam · deal · spell · prune · tear · shower · rest · scale

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. prune — to trim
  3. deal — to handle
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. rest — a break
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. shower — rain
  8. spell — a short time
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. tear — from crying
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. scale — size or range
  13. tear — from crying
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. prune — to trim
  17. scale — in music
  18. shower — to wash
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. rest — what's left
  21. spell — letters
  22. tear — to rip
  23. spell — magic
  24. rest — what's left

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