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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: hand · scale · current · bat · deal · wake · prune · bear

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — a trail
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. current — of water
  7. bear — the animal
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. scale — size or range
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. current — happening now
  16. current — electric
  17. prune — to trim
  18. deal — to handle
  19. hand — help
  20. prune — to trim
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. hand — in cards
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — for weighing

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