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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: current · chip · tear · stem · chest · pitch · spell · cabinet

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. current — happening now
  3. stem — to come from
  4. chip — to eat
  5. spell — a short time
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. spell — magic
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. tear — to rip
  12. chip — for betting
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. spell — letters
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. current — of water
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. pitch — completely
  20. tear — from crying
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cabinet — ministers

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