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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. current — electric
  3. land — to come down
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. current — of water
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — a series
  10. current — happening now
  11. game — wild animals
  12. stem — to come from
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. rash — hasty
  15. bat — the animal
  16. land — a country
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. game — a match
  19. kick — in football
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. land — ground

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