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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: current · tear · craft · date · row · prune · firm · rest

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. prune — to trim
  3. firm — a company
  4. firm — steady
  5. craft — a skill
  6. firm — decided
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. tear — to rip
  10. rest — a break
  11. prune — to trim
  12. row — to paddle
  13. current — electric
  14. date — the fruit
  15. current — of water
  16. tear — from crying
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. rest — what's left
  20. tear — from crying
  21. rest — what's left
  22. row — a line
  23. current — happening now
  24. row — a quarrel

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