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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stem — to come from
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. prune — to trim
  9. current — electric
  10. ground — a position
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. ground — the earth
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. wound — an injury
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. hand — help
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. ground — crushed
  20. current — of water
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. current — happening now
  23. hand — in cards
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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