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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. stem — to come from
  3. foot — a measure
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. current — electric
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. current — of water
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. current — happening now
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. cold — not warm
  18. rush — hurry

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