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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: pass · prune · shower · hide · straw · spell · tube · wind

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  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. hide — to keep secret
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. spell — a short time
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. spell — magic
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. pass — a permit
  14. prune — to trim
  15. spell — letters
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. shower — to wash
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. tube — a container
  21. tube — the underground
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  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