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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: wound · capital · fan · row · prune · temple · current · last

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. current — of water
  3. last — final
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. last — to go on
  6. wound — an injury
  7. capital — money
  8. prune — to trim
  9. row — a line
  10. wound — an injury
  11. current — electric
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. current — happening now
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. last — finally
  17. row — to paddle
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. prune — to trim
  24. fan — a supporter

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