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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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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: swing · deal · pitcher · prune · date · last · current · hand

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. last — finally
  3. current — of water
  4. hand — in cards
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. deal — to handle
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. last — to go on
  9. prune — to trim
  10. date — the fruit
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. last — final
  14. hand — help
  15. current — happening now
  16. prune — to trim
  17. current — electric
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. swing — to play on
  20. swing — in golf
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. swing — music

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