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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 120 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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. current — electric
  3. mine — for digging
  4. net — after costs
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. row — to paddle
  8. current — of water
  9. net — in sport
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. net — for catching
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. race — humankind
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. current — happening now
  19. row — a line
  20. race — the arms race
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. race — a contest

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