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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. cold — not warm
  4. capital — a city
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. cold — an illness
  10. date — the fruit
  11. row — to paddle
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. row — a line
  17. squash — to crush
  18. capital — money
  19. current — electric
  20. current — of water
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. squash — the sport
  23. stem — to come from
  24. capital — a big letter

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