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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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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: saw · dip · court · plane · arm · shower · prune · wound

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. court — of a king
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. dip — to sink
  6. court — for sport
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. shower — rain
  11. saw — the tool
  12. shower — to wash
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. saw — the tool
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. court — of law
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. plane — a tool
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. dip — to dunk

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