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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. current — of water
  3. swing — in golf
  4. rule — government
  5. field — a subject
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. swing — to play on
  8. shower — rain
  9. current — electric
  10. stem — to come from
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. can — a tin
  13. rule — a law
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. can — a tin
  17. field — for sport
  18. swing — music
  19. field — farmland
  20. current — happening now
  21. bat — the animal
  22. shower — to wash
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — of a plant

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