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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. prune — to trim
  4. track — a song
  5. current — electric
  6. current — happening now
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mate — a friend
  10. mate — to breed
  11. press — a publisher
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. prune — to trim
  15. press — to push
  16. track — to keep track
  17. kid — to tease
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. press — newspapers
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. current — of water
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. track — a path
  24. trunk — of a car

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