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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. current — of water
  3. track — a path
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. saw — the tool
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. branch — a division
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. track — a song
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cold — an illness
  14. current — electric
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — of water
  18. saw — the tool
  19. spring — the season
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. track — to keep track
  23. cold — not warm
  24. current — happening now

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