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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: fan · current · wound · prune · tube · cold · firm · swing

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. swing — to play on
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. current — of water
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. cold — an illness
  8. tube — a container
  9. tube — the underground
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — an injury
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. prune — to trim
  17. swing — music
  18. current — happening now
  19. firm — a company
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. firm — steady
  22. swing — in golf
  23. firm — decided
  24. current — electric

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