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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. spring — a coil
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. bound — tied together
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. spring — the season
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. bound — obliged
  9. club — for golf
  10. spring — of water
  11. stem — to come from
  12. club — a group
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. current — electric
  15. bound — certain
  16. cell — in biology
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. cell — a phone
  19. current — happening now
  20. club — for dancing
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. squash — to crush
  23. squash — the sport
  24. cell — in a prison

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