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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 124 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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. current — of water
  5. dip — to sink
  6. race — a contest
  7. last — finally
  8. drill — the tool
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. current — happening now
  11. clip — for paper
  12. race — the arms race
  13. drill — a practice
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. clip — a video
  16. drill — army training
  17. clip — to cut
  18. race — humankind
  19. current — electric
  20. last — to go on
  21. prune — to trim
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. last — final

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