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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 you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. current — of water
  4. present — the time now
  5. prune — to trim
  6. current — happening now
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a tool
  9. cap — a lid
  10. prune — to trim
  11. cap — a hat
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. field — a subject
  15. present — there
  16. field — farmland
  17. dip — to sink
  18. cap — of ice
  19. present — a gift
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. file — a line of people
  22. hand — in cards
  23. field — for sport
  24. current — electric

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