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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: hide · dip · cold · stem · game · racket · bound · current

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cold — not warm
  5. game — a match
  6. current — happening now
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. current — electric
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bound — obliged
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bound — certain
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. cold — an illness
  20. dip — to sink
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. current — of water
  24. stem — to come from

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