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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 116 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. cue — a hint
  3. cue — a signal
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. current — happening now
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cue — for pool
  9. prune — to trim
  10. track — a path
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. current — electric
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pop — soda
  17. branch — a division
  18. fall — the season
  19. track — a song
  20. current — of water
  21. track — to keep track
  22. row — a line
  23. row — to paddle
  24. pop — music

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