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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. current — happening now
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. cold — an illness
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. tear — to rip
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. squash — to crush
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. current — of water
  17. stem — to come from
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mine — for digging
  20. tear — from crying
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. cold — not warm
  23. squash — the sport
  24. temple — a place of worship

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