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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: current · chair · wake · wind · pound · stem

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. chair — a leader
  3. wake — a trail
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. wind — moving air
  6. current — of water
  7. wind — moving air
  8. current — happening now
  9. pound — a weight
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. stem — to come from
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. current — electric

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