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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. spring — of water
  4. stem — to come from
  5. last — finally
  6. club — a group
  7. current — electric
  8. spring — a coil
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. spring — the season
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. club — for golf
  14. current — of water
  15. current — happening now
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a tool
  18. last — final
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. file — a line of people
  22. club — for dancing
  23. last — to go on
  24. arm — a part of something

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