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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. band — a ring
  3. current — of water
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. kid — to tease
  6. wind — moving air
  7. prune — to trim
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. kick — in football
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. current — electric
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. squash — to crush
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. band — a music group
  16. current — happening now
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. wind — moving air
  21. squash — the sport
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. kid — child

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