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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 are we going to ________________?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. present — the time now
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. current — electric
  5. land — a country
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. present — a gift
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wind — moving air
  11. current — happening now
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. current — of water
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. prune — to trim
  16. land — ground
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. kid — child
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. present — there
  21. sharp — clever
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wind — moving air
  24. kid — to tease

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