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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 120 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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. current — electric
  4. spell — letters
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. chest — of your body
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. last — to go on
  9. chest — of your body
  10. spell — magic
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. cue — for pool
  13. shower — to wash
  14. kick — in football
  15. spell — a short time
  16. current — happening now
  17. last — final
  18. chest — a box
  19. prune — to trim
  20. cue — a signal
  21. last — finally
  22. current — of water
  23. cue — a hint
  24. shower — rain

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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