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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. rock — music
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. rock — a stone
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stem — to come from
  8. rest — what's left
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. wound — an injury
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. current — electric
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. current — of water
  19. current — happening now
  20. rest — a break
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rest — what's left
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. wave — of the sea

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