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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · stock · plane · fan · dip · march · prune · cold

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. current — electric
  4. prune — to trim
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. current — of water
  9. dip — to sink
  10. cold — not warm
  11. plane — a tool
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — shares
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. stock — goods
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. prune — to trim
  20. current — happening now
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. march — the month
  23. cold — an illness
  24. dip — a sauce

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