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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
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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 · wind · stand · cold · pop · nail · stem · field

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. stand — to bear
  3. pop — soda
  4. pop — music
  5. current — happening now
  6. cold — not warm
  7. field — farmland
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. field — a subject
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. current — electric
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. field — for sport
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. current — of water
  21. wind — moving air
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. pop — to visit
  24. wind — moving air

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