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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: shower · fine · stick · current · spell · spring · perch · prune

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. prune — to trim
  3. current — of water
  4. shower — to wash
  5. current — happening now
  6. spell — letters
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. spell — a short time
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. spring — the season
  11. prune — to trim
  12. spring — of water
  13. shower — rain
  14. fine — all right
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. current — electric
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. spring — a coil
  21. perch — the fish
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. fine — high quality

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