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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. net — after costs
  3. suit — to fit
  4. current — of water
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. net — in sport
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fall — the season
  10. net — for catching
  11. stem — to come from
  12. suit — in cards
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. fall — to drop
  16. clip — to cut
  17. suit — clothes
  18. bat — the animal
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. current — happening now
  21. fall — to drop
  22. mine — for digging
  23. current — electric
  24. bat — in an idiom

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