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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: degree · prune · shower · safe · racket · lie · kid · squash

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. squash — the sport
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. degree — from a university
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. kid — to tease
  8. prune — to trim
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. degree — an amount
  12. shower — to wash
  13. prune — to trim
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. kid — child
  17. shower — rain
  18. lie — to recline
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. squash — to crush
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. degree — temperature
  24. prune — the fruit

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