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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wind — moving air
  4. prune — to trim
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. current — happening now
  7. current — electric
  8. scale — in music
  9. wind — moving air
  10. chip — to eat
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — hasty
  15. chip — for betting
  16. current — of water
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. rash — a series
  23. scale — size or range
  24. ruler — a monarch

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