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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. lean — thin
  4. current — happening now
  5. net — after costs
  6. current — electric
  7. lean — to bend
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. clip — to cut
  13. stem — to come from
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. season — of the year
  16. clip — a video
  17. net — in sport
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. current — of water
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. net — for catching
  23. season — in sport
  24. clip — for paper

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