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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. land — ground
  3. fall — the season
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. ball — a dance
  6. land — a country
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. fall — to drop
  9. current — happening now
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. foot — a measure
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. current — electric
  16. mine — for digging
  17. fall — to drop
  18. ball — a great time
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. current — of water
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. land — to come down
  24. ball — a round shape

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