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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 124 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. current — electric
  3. present — the time now
  4. snap — to click
  5. prune — to trim
  6. sharp — clever
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. current — of water
  9. rash — a series
  10. prune — to trim
  11. spring — of water
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rock — music
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. current — happening now
  16. spring — the season
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. spring — a coil
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. present — there
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. rock — a stone

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