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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: club · prune · bowl · cell · straw · rush · band · current

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. band — a ring
  9. current — happening now
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. cell — a phone
  12. current — electric
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. prune — to trim
  16. rush — hurry
  17. current — of water
  18. club — for dancing
  19. prune — to trim
  20. band — a music group
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. club — a group
  24. club — for golf

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