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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. last — finally
  3. current — of water
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. wind — moving air
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. wind — moving air
  9. current — electric
  10. last — final
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. prune — to trim
  13. last — to go on
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. prune — to trim
  16. tube — the underground
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a ring
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — a container
  24. nail — on a finger

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