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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 116 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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. stem — to come from
  5. current — of water
  6. current — electric
  7. land — to come down
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wake — a trail
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. current — happening now
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. cold — an illness
  21. land — a country
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. land — ground

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