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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. current — electric
  3. mug — a cup
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — after costs
  7. current — happening now
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. key — for a lock
  10. mug — to rob
  11. scale — size or range
  12. prune — to trim
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. scale — in music
  15. current — of water
  16. key — the most important part
  17. mug — a face
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. net — for catching
  20. hand — in cards
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — to crush
  23. key — in music
  24. hand — help

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