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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. court — of law
  3. current — electric
  4. can — to be able to
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. current — happening now
  8. court — for sport
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. prune — to trim
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. can — a tin
  15. can — a tin
  16. court — of a king
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. current — of water
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. patient — a sick person

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