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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. current — of water
  3. current — happening now
  4. tear — from crying
  5. prune — to trim
  6. pop — soda
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. tear — from crying
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. perch — the fish
  14. bank — for money
  15. tear — to rip
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. current — electric
  18. bank — of a river
  19. pop — to visit
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. rash — a series
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. rash — hasty
  24. bank — for money

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