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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. current — electric
  3. pop — music
  4. mate — a partner
  5. spell — magic
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. stem — to come from
  8. current — of water
  9. hand — in cards
  10. spell — letters
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. spell — a short time
  13. pop — to visit
  14. mate — a friend
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. pop — soda
  17. mate — to breed
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. current — happening now
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. hand — help

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