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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: season · prune · jam · mouse · capital · shower · track · content

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. prune — to trim
  4. shower — rain
  5. content — the amount
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. content — happy
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. track — to keep track
  12. shower — to wash
  13. track — a path
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. season — in sport
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. track — a song
  20. prune — to trim
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. capital — a city
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. mouse — the animal

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