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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. current — of water
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. current — happening now
  8. fine — all right
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. cold — an illness
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. bat — the animal
  15. chip — for betting
  16. cold — not warm
  17. stem — to come from
  18. fine — high quality
  19. current — electric
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — a place of worship

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