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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: prune · hand · wave · leaves · game · land · current · sharp

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. current — happening now
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. land — ground
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. current — electric
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. game — wild animals
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. prune — to trim
  11. game — a match
  12. sharp — clever
  13. land — a country
  14. hand — in cards
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. hand — help
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. current — of water
  20. land — to come down
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. prune — to trim
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. sharp — exactly

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