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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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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: kid · chest · toast · current · ground · staff · mark · prune

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. 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. kid — to tease
  2. ground — a position
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. staff — employees
  5. ground — crushed
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. current — electric
  9. prune — to trim
  10. chest — a box
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. current — of water
  13. staff — employees
  14. ground — the earth
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. mark — a trace
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. kid — child
  19. staff — a stick
  20. chest — of your body
  21. toast — bread
  22. mark — a grade
  23. prune — to trim
  24. 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