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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: prune · swing · spell · wind · current · rash · jam · clip

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. wind — moving air
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — a short time
  6. rash — a series
  7. swing — to play on
  8. wind — moving air
  9. prune — to trim
  10. current — electric
  11. current — happening now
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. rash — hasty
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. current — of water
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — music
  19. prune — to trim
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — a video
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. clip — to cut

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