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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 116 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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. current — of water
  3. fork — in a road
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. kid — child
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. craft — boats
  8. bat — the animal
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. stem — to come from
  11. squash — the sport
  12. craft — a skill
  13. current — happening now
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. wind — moving air
  21. squash — to crush
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. kid — to tease

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