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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: chest · pitcher · firm · spell · sharp · prune · spring · current

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. current — of water
  3. sharp — clever
  4. chest — of your body
  5. firm — steady
  6. spring — of water
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. spring — the season
  11. spell — a short time
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. firm — a company
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. firm — decided
  16. chest — a box
  17. current — happening now
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. spell — magic
  21. spell — letters
  22. current — electric
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. spring — a coil

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