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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to bend
  3. craft — a skill
  4. current — electric
  5. cold — not warm
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. race — humankind
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. cold — an illness
  10. race — a contest
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. current — of water
  14. cap — a lid
  15. stem — to come from
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — of ice
  18. current — happening now
  19. craft — boats
  20. toast — bread
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. race — the arms race
  24. lean — to rest against

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