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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 · arm · patient · prune · snap · game · tear · firm

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. firm — a company
  4. tear — to rip
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. current — of water
  7. firm — steady
  8. game — a match
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. tear — from crying
  11. snap — to click
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. current — electric
  14. current — happening now
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. game — wild animals
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. tear — from crying
  20. firm — decided
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. prune — to trim
  24. game — a kind of play

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