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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  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. lean — thin
  2. scale — in music
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. cold — an illness
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. stem — to come from
  8. row — to paddle
  9. lean — to bend
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. current — electric
  12. game — wild animals
  13. scale — size or range
  14. cold — not warm
  15. game — a match
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. current — of water
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. row — a line
  23. scale — for weighing
  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