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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 120 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. stem — to come from
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. current — electric
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. current — happening now
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. spring — of water
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. wind — moving air
  13. dip — to sink
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. scale — size or range
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — a trail
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. spring — the season
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. current — of water
  22. wind — moving air
  23. scale — in music
  24. wind — to turn a key

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