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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. fine — all right
  3. kid — to tease
  4. fall — to drop
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. fall — the season
  9. prune — to trim
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. prune — to trim
  12. scale — in music
  13. current — electric
  14. fall — to drop
  15. current — happening now
  16. scale — size or range
  17. fine — high quality
  18. kid — child

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