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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. current — electric
  4. rest — a break
  5. ground — crushed
  6. mine — for digging
  7. cap — a hat
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. chest — a box
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. current — of water
  12. rest — what's left
  13. ground — a position
  14. rest — what's left
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wind — moving air
  17. current — happening now
  18. cap — of ice
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cap — a lid
  21. stem — to come from
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mine — an explosive

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