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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 116 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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. prune — to trim
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. last — to go on
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. last — finally
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rule — government
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a ring
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. rule — a law
  14. prune — to trim
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. last — final
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. current — of water
  20. current — electric
  21. shower — rain
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. band — a rubber band

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