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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. current — electric
  3. stem — to come from
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. staff — employees
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. last — final
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. staff — a stick
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. current — of water
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. last — finally
  15. mine — for digging
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. last — to go on
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. plane — a tool
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. current — happening now
  24. staff — employees

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