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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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. current — electric
  3. roll — a cake
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. track — to keep track
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. club — for golf
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. wind — moving air
  11. current — of water
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. wind — moving air
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. stem — to come from
  16. track — a path
  17. current — happening now
  18. track — a song
  19. roll — a list
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. club — for dancing
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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