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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. tear — to rip
  3. degree — from a university
  4. current — of water
  5. band — a ring
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bass — low music
  8. tear — from crying
  9. current — happening now
  10. band — a music group
  11. degree — temperature
  12. prune — to trim
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. kid — to tease
  15. degree — an amount
  16. current — electric
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. prune — to trim
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. tear — from crying
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bass — the instrument

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