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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. field — for sport
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. clip — to cut
  5. firm — a company
  6. cell — in biology
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. field — farmland
  9. clip — for paper
  10. current — electric
  11. firm — decided
  12. cell — a phone
  13. clip — a video
  14. rest — a break
  15. current — of water
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. firm — steady
  18. field — a subject
  19. rest — what's left
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. rest — what's left
  22. pound — a weight
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. stem — to come from

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