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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. pit — a hole
  3. object — to protest
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. current — of water
  7. key — the most important part
  8. pit — in a race
  9. press — a publisher
  10. key — for a lock
  11. clip — to cut
  12. current — electric
  13. press — newspapers
  14. clip — a video
  15. press — to push
  16. clip — for paper
  17. key — in music
  18. current — happening now
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. object — a thing
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. kid — child

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