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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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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: race · shower · cold · degree · cue · wave · craft · prune

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. craft — a skill
  6. degree — an amount
  7. shower — rain
  8. degree — temperature
  9. race — humankind
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. race — a contest
  13. cue — a signal
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. race — the arms race
  19. cue — a hint
  20. prune — to trim
  21. degree — from a university
  22. cue — for pool
  23. craft — boats
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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