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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. current — of water
  9. current — electric
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — clever
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. spring — the season
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. current — happening now
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. swing — music
  18. swing — to play on
  19. spring — of water
  20. track — a path
  21. track — to keep track
  22. spring — a coil
  23. track — a song
  24. swing — in golf

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