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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 116 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: stem · prune · chip · swing · current · hand · last · land

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. chip — to eat
  3. chip — for betting
  4. swing — in golf
  5. last — final
  6. land — a country
  7. land — ground
  8. last — to go on
  9. prune — to trim
  10. current — of water
  11. hand — in cards
  12. current — electric
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. prune — to trim
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. last — finally
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — music
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. hand — help
  21. stem — to come from
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. land — to come down

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