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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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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: staff · stem · current · firm · game · tear · court · land

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. court — of law
  3. firm — a company
  4. current — happening now
  5. stem — to come from
  6. firm — steady
  7. staff — employees
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. court — of a king
  10. staff — employees
  11. firm — decided
  12. land — ground
  13. tear — from crying
  14. game — a match
  15. game — wild animals
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. land — a country
  18. staff — a stick
  19. tear — from crying
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. current — of water
  22. land — to come down
  23. court — for sport
  24. tear — to rip

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