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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: spring · last · stem · current · kid · safe · season · pitcher

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. kid — to tease
  3. season — of the year
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. current — of water
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. current — happening now
  10. last — finally
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. spring — the season
  13. current — electric
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. spring — of water
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. spring — a coil
  18. last — to go on
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. last — final
  22. season — in sport
  23. kid — child
  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