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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. current — of water
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. roll — a cake
  8. cell — a phone
  9. ground — a position
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. chip — to eat
  12. roll — a list
  13. current — electric
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — the earth
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. hand — in cards
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. snap — to click
  21. current — happening now
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. chip — for betting
  24. cell — in biology

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