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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. current — electric
  3. squash — the sport
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. field — a subject
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. spring — the season
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. field — farmland
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. club — for dancing
  12. spring — a coil
  13. current — happening now
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — to crush
  17. kick — in football
  18. wind — moving air
  19. spring — of water
  20. club — for golf
  21. stem — to come from
  22. field — for sport
  23. wind — moving air
  24. current — of water

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