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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. last — final
  7. last — finally
  8. court — for sport
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. court — of a king
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kick — in football
  13. file — a document
  14. last — to go on
  15. court — of law
  16. file — a tool
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. current — happening now
  20. current — electric
  21. file — a line of people
  22. prune — to trim
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. fall — to drop

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