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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. current — electric
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. file — a tool
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. suit — to fit
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. club — a group
  10. spring — a coil
  11. stem — to come from
  12. rash — a series
  13. current — of water
  14. bark — to shout
  15. suit — in cards
  16. rash — hasty
  17. file — a line of people
  18. club — for dancing
  19. current — happening now
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. file — a document
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — of water
  24. suit — clothes

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