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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. stem — to come from
  3. current — of water
  4. ground — a position
  5. current — electric
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. fall — to drop
  8. chest — of your body
  9. current — happening now
  10. ground — crushed
  11. fall — to drop
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. cue — for pool
  15. fall — the season
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. court — for sport
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. court — of law
  20. chest — a box
  21. cue — a signal
  22. cue — a hint
  23. court — of a king
  24. ground — the earth

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