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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: club · bore · hand · bass · rush · prune · shower · mug

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — hurry
  3. mug — a face
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bore — to tire
  6. shower — to wash
  7. bass — the fish
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. mug — a cup
  12. shower — rain
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. club — for dancing
  17. club — for golf
  18. bore — to drill
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bass — low music
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. mug — to rob
  23. club — a group
  24. hand — help

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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