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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 120 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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. tear — from crying
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. sharp — clever
  6. march — music
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. current — of water
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. bound — tied together
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. bound — obliged
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bound — certain
  17. stem — to come from
  18. current — happening now
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. tear — to rip
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. tear — from crying
  24. nail — for a hammer

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