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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. ground — crushed
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. current — happening now
  6. tear — from crying
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. branch — a division
  9. band — a music group
  10. current — of water
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — the earth
  17. pit — in a race
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. tear — from crying
  20. band — a ring
  21. tear — to rip
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. pit — a hole

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