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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  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. coach — pulled by horses
  2. current — electric
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bound — certain
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. bound — tied together
  7. object — an aim
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. current — of water
  10. object — a thing
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. current — happening now
  13. spell — letters
  14. object — to protest
  15. wake — a trail
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stand — to bear
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — magic
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. stand — for spectators
  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