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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: bear · current · court · file · trunk · snap · stem · squash

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. current — of water
  3. squash — the sport
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. court — of a king
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. bear — the animal
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. court — of law
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a line of people
  16. court — for sport
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. squash — to crush
  19. stem — to come from
  20. current — electric
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. file — a tool
  23. bear — the animal
  24. trunk — of a tree

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