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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. current — electric
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. drill — army training
  5. current — happening now
  6. prune — to trim
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — to come from
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. lean — to bend
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. clip — a video
  16. prune — to trim
  17. clip — to cut
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. current — of water
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — the tool
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. clip — for paper

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