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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 116 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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. file — a document
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. cell — a phone
  7. stem — to come from
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — for light
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. file — a tool
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. mine — for digging
  18. dip — to sink
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. capital — money
  21. current — of water
  22. capital — a city
  23. file — a line of people
  24. current — happening now

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