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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 120 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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. pop — to visit
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. pop — soda
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. wind — moving air
  9. current — happening now
  10. scale — size or range
  11. pop — music
  12. current — of water
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. current — electric
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. season — of the year
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rush — hurry
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. scale — in music
  24. wind — to turn a key

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