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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 116 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: present · race · prune · sharp · track · hand · current · wind

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. track — a path
  3. race — a contest
  4. sharp — clever
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. prune — to trim
  7. present — the time now
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. track — a song
  10. wind — moving air
  11. current — electric
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. current — of water
  15. hand — help
  16. wind — moving air
  17. hand — in cards
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — the arms race
  21. track — to keep track
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. present — there
  24. present — a gift

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