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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. file — a document
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. file — a line of people
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — farmland
  9. rule — a law
  10. shower — rain
  11. current — electric
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. rule — government
  14. game — a match
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. file — a tool
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. shower — to wash
  19. stem — to come from
  20. ball — a great time
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. current — of water
  23. game — wild animals
  24. current — happening now

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