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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: land · current · hand · deal · prune · row

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. prune — to trim
  3. row — to paddle
  4. hand — in cards
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. current — of water
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. row — a line
  10. land — ground
  11. current — electric
  12. prune — to trim
  13. deal — to handle
  14. hand — help
  15. land — a country
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. land — to come down
  18. current — happening now

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