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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: hand · current · wind · date · kick · pitch · stem · tear

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. current — happening now
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. current — electric
  6. wind — moving air
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. hand — in cards
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. current — of water
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. date — the fruit
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. stem — to come from
  22. pitch — completely
  23. kick — in football
  24. date — on the calendar

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