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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. current — of water
  3. current — electric
  4. key — for a lock
  5. pit — a hole
  6. drill — the tool
  7. prune — to trim
  8. key — the most important part
  9. prune — to trim
  10. band — a music group
  11. last — final
  12. last — to go on
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. key — in music
  15. band — a ring
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. current — happening now
  19. last — finally
  20. pit — in a race
  21. saw — the tool
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — army training

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