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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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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: deal · pop · foot · prune · current · bat · hand · chair

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. pop — to visit
  4. chair — a leader
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. current — happening now
  7. foot — a measure
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. hand — in cards
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. deal — to handle
  18. pop — soda
  19. hand — help
  20. prune — to trim
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. current — electric
  23. prune — to trim
  24. current — of water

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