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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. land — ground
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. court — of law
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a grade
  9. current — electric
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. sharp — clever
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. land — a country
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. land — to come down
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. court — of a king
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. court — for sport
  21. chest — of your body
  22. current — of water
  23. mark — a trace
  24. stem — to come from

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