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

Word bank: drill · rule · chest · toast · stem · current

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. drill — a practice
  4. rule — a law
  5. drill — the tool
  6. current — electric
  7. current — of water
  8. chest — of your body
  9. toast — bread
  10. chest — of your body
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. drill — army training
  13. current — happening now
  14. stem — to come from
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — government
  17. chest — a box
  18. stem — of a plant

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