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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. stem — to come from
  3. staff — employees
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. track — a path
  6. root — of a plant
  7. staff — a stick
  8. current — of water
  9. root — the cause
  10. track — to keep track
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. current — happening now
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. staff — employees
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. mine — for digging
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. track — a song
  22. root — of a word
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. current — electric

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