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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: prune · tube · shower · calf · cold · fan · bowl · march

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. tube — a container
  6. march — music
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — rain
  10. tube — the underground
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. cold — not warm
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. march — the month
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. prune — to trim
  24. cold — an illness

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