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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: row · kick · shower · mark · leaves · prune · bass · dip

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. prune — to trim
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — in football
  8. row — to paddle
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. bass — the fish
  14. mark — a grade
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. prune — to trim
  17. mark — a trace
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. row — a line
  21. shower — to wash
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. dip — to sink
  24. shower — rain

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