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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: land · bound · stem · lean · bat · current · scale · rash

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. current — electric
  3. bound — obliged
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. lean — thin
  6. scale — size or range
  7. stem — to come from
  8. bound — certain
  9. land — to come down
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. scale — in music
  13. current — happening now
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. lean — to bend
  17. land — ground
  18. bound — tied together
  19. current — of water
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. bat — the animal
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. land — a country
  24. rash — a series

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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