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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  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. shower — to wash
  2. can — a tin
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. current — happening now
  5. cell — in biology
  6. chest — of your body
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cell — a phone
  9. current — of water
  10. roll — a list
  11. chest — a box
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. roll — a cake
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. can — to be able to
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. can — a tin
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. current — electric
  23. prune — to trim
  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