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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: date · prune · hide · cold · row · spring · current · deal

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. prune — to trim
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. spring — the season
  6. current — electric
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. current — of water
  10. row — a line
  11. spring — a coil
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cold — not warm
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. date — the fruit
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. row — to paddle
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. prune — to trim
  20. cold — an illness
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. spring — of water
  24. deal — to handle

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