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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. spell — letters
  3. kick — in football
  4. stem — to come from
  5. current — happening now
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. root — of a word
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. root — of a plant
  11. current — of water
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. file — a line of people
  14. root — the cause
  15. file — a document
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. spell — a short time
  18. file — a tool
  19. current — electric
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a match
  22. spell — magic
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. straw — a straw man

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