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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. present — a gift
  3. cap — a hat
  4. key — for a lock
  5. wound — an injury
  6. board — to get on
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. board — a committee
  9. cap — of ice
  10. current — electric
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. current — of water
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. cap — a lid
  15. wound — an injury
  16. key — in music
  17. key — the most important part
  18. present — the time now
  19. cold — an illness
  20. stem — to come from
  21. cold — not warm
  22. present — there
  23. current — happening now
  24. stem — of a plant

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