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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: shower · foot · ball · prune · band · race · leaves · rush

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. race — a contest
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. band — a ring
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. foot — a measure
  12. shower — rain
  13. rush — hurry
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. shower — to wash
  16. race — the arms race
  17. band — a music group
  18. prune — to trim
  19. race — humankind
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. ball — a dance
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. ball — a great 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