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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. current — happening now
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. cap — a lid
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cap — a hat
  8. current — of water
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. season — of the year
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. current — electric
  14. season — in sport
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. snap — to click
  18. cap — of ice
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. season — to add flavour

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