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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 116 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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. last — final
  4. cold — an illness
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. last — finally
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. rock — a stone
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. saw — the tool
  12. kid — to tease
  13. rock — music
  14. current — happening now
  15. last — to go on
  16. stem — to come from
  17. cold — not warm
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. current — electric
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. kid — child
  23. current — of water
  24. saw — the tool

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