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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: current · cold · rush · content · present · stem · bat · rash

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. present — there
  4. current — of water
  5. bat — the animal
  6. rash — a series
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. present — the time now
  11. present — a gift
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — hasty
  15. content — happy
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. rush — hurry
  18. current — electric
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stem — to come from
  23. content — the amount
  24. cold — the Cold War

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