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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: cell · wound · current · shower · rock · prune · spell · capital

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. current — of water
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cell — in biology
  6. capital — money
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wound — an injury
  9. current — happening now
  10. capital — a city
  11. rock — music
  12. cell — a phone
  13. spell — magic
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. shower — rain
  16. spell — a short time
  17. prune — to trim
  18. spell — letters
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. rock — a stone
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. prune — to trim
  24. shower — to wash

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