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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: dip · sharp · rush · stem · season · court · current · wound

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. court — for sport
  3. current — electric
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. court — of a king
  6. stem — to come from
  7. season — in sport
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. current — of water
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — clever
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. season — of the year
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. court — of law
  19. wound — an injury
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. rush — hurry
  22. current — happening now
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. dip — to sink

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