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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. object — to protest
  3. object — a thing
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. rash — a series
  8. current — electric
  9. prune — to trim
  10. tear — from crying
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. prune — to trim
  13. current — happening now
  14. scale — in music
  15. object — an aim
  16. tear — to rip
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. rash — hasty
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. scale — size or range
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. tear — from crying

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