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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. net — after costs
  3. current — happening now
  4. net — in sport
  5. current — electric
  6. wound — an injury
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. swing — to play on
  9. fork — in a road
  10. net — for catching
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. mark — a grade
  13. mark — a trace
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. wound — an injury
  17. game — a match
  18. stem — to come from
  19. swing — music
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. game — wild animals
  22. swing — in golf
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. current — of water

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