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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: mine · firm · prune · straw · shower · capital · swing · perch

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. capital — a city
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. perch — the fish
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. prune — to trim
  10. shower — rain
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — in golf
  13. mine — for digging
  14. capital — money
  15. firm — steady
  16. swing — music
  17. firm — a company
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. firm — decided
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. prune — to trim
  24. mine — an explosive

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