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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cue — a signal
  5. field — for sport
  6. cue — a hint
  7. shower — rain
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. plane — a tool
  10. cell — a phone
  11. shower — to wash
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cue — for pool
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. cell — in biology
  17. field — farmland
  18. current — happening now
  19. current — electric
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. field — a subject
  22. current — of water
  23. prune — to trim
  24. straw — a straw man

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