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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. pop — to visit
  4. current — happening now
  5. squash — the sport
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. pop — soda
  9. squash — to crush
  10. rash — a series
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. rash — hasty
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. current — electric
  16. march — the month
  17. prune — to trim
  18. content — happy
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. prune — to trim
  21. plane — a tool
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. pop — music
  24. content — the amount

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