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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. kid — to tease
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. press — newspapers
  8. press — to push
  9. press — a publisher
  10. staff — employees
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. current — happening now
  14. cell — a phone
  15. staff — a stick
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. current — of water
  18. tear — from crying
  19. prune — to trim
  20. kid — child
  21. cell — in biology
  22. stem — to come from
  23. staff — employees
  24. stem — of a plant

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