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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. cue — a hint
  4. current — of water
  5. spring — the season
  6. current — electric
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. lie — to recline
  9. stem — to come from
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. field — for sport
  12. spring — of water
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cue — for pool
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — farmland
  19. wake — a trail
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. current — happening now
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. spring — a coil
  24. lie — an untruth

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