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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. land — a country
  4. current — happening now
  5. prune — to trim
  6. mate — a friend
  7. track — a song
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. current — of water
  12. capital — money
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a partner
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. track — a path
  19. prune — to trim
  20. land — to come down
  21. wind — moving air
  22. land — ground
  23. current — electric
  24. track — to keep track

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