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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. current — electric
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. tear — to rip
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. field — a subject
  8. deal — to handle
  9. bass — low music
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. bass — the fish
  15. prune — to trim
  16. field — for sport
  17. mug — a cup
  18. current — happening now
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. mug — a face
  21. field — farmland
  22. tear — from crying
  23. lie — to recline
  24. current — of water

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