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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. current — happening now
  3. perch — the fish
  4. tube — the underground
  5. file — a line of people
  6. current — of water
  7. file — a document
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. current — electric
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — the season
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. tube — a container
  17. fall — to drop
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. degree — an amount
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. degree — temperature
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. file — a tool
  24. degree — from a university

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