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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. current — of water
  3. lean — thin
  4. stem — to come from
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. rash — a series
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. spring — the season
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. mine — for digging
  14. current — happening now
  15. rash — hasty
  16. current — electric
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. spring — a coil
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. spring — of water
  23. lean — to bend
  24. stem — a stem cell

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