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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. stem — to come from
  4. rest — what's left
  5. field — farmland
  6. rest — a break
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. current — of water
  9. field — a subject
  10. clip — a video
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. field — for sport
  15. lean — thin
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — for paper
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. rest — what's left
  20. sharp — clever
  21. current — happening now
  22. lean — to bend
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. current — electric

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