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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 · prune · lie · mine · sharp · swing · club · wake

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. sharp — clever
  5. club — for dancing
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. wake — a trail
  13. swing — in golf
  14. club — a group
  15. current — electric
  16. lie — to recline
  17. swing — music
  18. current — of water
  19. club — for golf
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. current — happening now
  22. swing — to play on
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. mine — belonging to me

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