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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — help
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. vault — a safe
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. current — of water
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. pound — a weight
  17. stem — to come from
  18. cold — an illness
  19. hand — in cards
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. march — the month
  23. mine — for digging
  24. current — happening now

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