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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. stem — to come from
  3. ground — crushed
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. ground — a position
  6. shower — rain
  7. spring — of water
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. spring — the season
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. shower — to wash
  14. current — happening now
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. bore — to drill
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. current — of water
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. ground — the earth
  24. bore — to tire

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