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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 120 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 · rule · content · current · shower · pit · wind · march

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wind — moving air
  6. march — the month
  7. wind — moving air
  8. rule — government
  9. march — the month
  10. pit — a hole
  11. content — the amount
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. march — music
  14. current — electric
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — a law
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — happy
  21. shower — to wash
  22. pit — in a race
  23. current — happening now
  24. prune — the fruit

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