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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: current · shower · prune · pitch · kick · mine · board · wind

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. pitch — completely
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. shower — to wash
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. shower — rain
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. kick — in football
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. current — happening now
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. board — to get on
  15. wind — moving air
  16. current — electric
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. board — a committee
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. current — of water
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. mine — for digging
  24. wind — moving air

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