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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. staff — a stick
  2. current — of water
  3. saw — the tool
  4. cold — an illness
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. saw — the tool
  8. current — electric
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. staff — employees
  14. current — happening now
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. stem — to come from
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. staff — employees
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. cold — not warm
  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