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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. chest — of your body
  3. stem — to come from
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. last — final
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. current — of water
  8. pound — a weight
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. spell — letters
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. last — to go on
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. current — happening now
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. current — electric
  19. spell — a short time
  20. chest — of your body
  21. stand — to bear
  22. last — finally
  23. spell — magic
  24. chest — a box

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