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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. staff — a stick
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. staff — employees
  8. current — happening now
  9. snap — to click
  10. current — electric
  11. capital — money
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. stem — to come from
  15. staff — employees
  16. spell — letters
  17. capital — a city
  18. spell — magic
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. spell — a short time
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — rain

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