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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 120 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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. current — of water
  3. current — electric
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. prune — to trim
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — an amount
  10. cell — a phone
  11. wound — an injury
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. prune — to trim
  14. degree — temperature
  15. current — happening now
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. wound — an injury
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. cell — in biology
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. rock — music
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. rock — a stone

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