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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: cold · prune · field · fine · rule · root · current · cue

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. cue — for pool
  3. cold — not warm
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. cold — an illness
  6. field — for sport
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cue — a signal
  9. fine — all right
  10. prune — to trim
  11. field — farmland
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. root — of a plant
  14. current — happening now
  15. cue — a hint
  16. field — a subject
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. root — of a word
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. root — the cause
  21. rule — government
  22. fine — high quality
  23. current — of water
  24. rule — a law

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