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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 120 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. craft — a skill
  3. lean — thin
  4. wind — moving air
  5. press — newspapers
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. current — happening now
  9. press — a publisher
  10. current — electric
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. content — happy
  13. stem — to come from
  14. press — to push
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. lean — to bend
  17. content — the amount
  18. craft — boats
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. current — of water
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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