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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: bat · current · wound · key · prune · lash · tear · rock

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. current — of water
  3. wound — an injury
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. current — happening now
  6. key — the most important part
  7. bat — the animal
  8. rock — a stone
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. rock — music
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. key — in music
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. tear — from crying
  17. prune — to trim
  18. key — for a lock
  19. tear — to rip
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. prune — to trim
  22. wound — an injury
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bat — in an idiom

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