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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. current — of water
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. last — finally
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. field — farmland
  10. cap — a hat
  11. current — happening now
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. stem — to come from
  14. field — for sport
  15. branch — a division
  16. bat — the animal
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. cap — of ice
  21. current — electric
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. field — a subject
  24. last — to go on

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