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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. current — electric
  4. scale — in music
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. scale — size or range
  7. kid — child
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. current — happening now
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. stand — to bear
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. current — of water
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a music group
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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