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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. current — happening now
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. stem — to come from
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. pop — soda
  7. chest — of your body
  8. court — of law
  9. file — a line of people
  10. current — of water
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. court — of a king
  13. wound — an injury
  14. current — electric
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. file — a document
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. pop — to visit
  19. court — for sport
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. pop — music
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wound — an injury
  24. chest — a box

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