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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: kid · file · prune · cell · snap · current · land · bore

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. land — ground
  4. file — a line of people
  5. prune — to trim
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. file — a document
  8. land — to come down
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. kid — child
  12. snap — to click
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — a phone
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bore — to drill
  18. file — a tool
  19. bore — to tire
  20. land — a country
  21. current — of water
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. kid — to tease
  24. current — happening now

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