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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. current — electric
  3. capital — a city
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. current — happening now
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — rain
  10. game — wild animals
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bank — for money
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. game — a match
  17. bank — for money
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. current — of water
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. capital — money
  22. prune — to trim
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bank — of a river

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