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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · wound · pop · key · squash · chest · mate · stem

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. chest — of your body
  3. stem — to come from
  4. key — for a lock
  5. wound — an injury
  6. current — happening now
  7. squash — to crush
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. mate — to breed
  11. current — of water
  12. pop — to visit
  13. key — in music
  14. wound — an injury
  15. squash — the sport
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — music
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. mate — a partner
  21. current — electric
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. mate — a friend

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