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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: rule · rush · bulb · prune · spring · current · hand · degree

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. hand — in cards
  3. rule — government
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. current — electric
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bulb — for light
  11. rush — hurry
  12. hand — help
  13. current — happening now
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bulb — for light
  16. current — of water
  17. degree — from a university
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — the season
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. degree — an amount

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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