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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. march — the month
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. net — in sport
  6. current — happening now
  7. net — for catching
  8. pound — a weight
  9. march — music
  10. saw — the tool
  11. current — of water
  12. rash — hasty
  13. net — after costs
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. march — the month
  17. game — a match
  18. rash — a series
  19. saw — the tool
  20. game — wild animals
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. current — electric
  24. rash — on the skin

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