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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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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. current — electric
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. court — for sport
  5. stem — to come from
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. fork — in a road
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. court — of a king
  11. cold — an illness
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. court — of law
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cold — not warm
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. current — happening now

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