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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. cell — a phone
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — soda
  11. root — of a word
  12. pop — music
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stock — shares
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a plant
  17. stem — to come from
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. current — happening now
  21. current — of water
  22. cell — in biology
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. mine — belonging to me

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