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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: pitcher · swing · current · wake · stem · sharp · bat · fan

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. sharp — clever
  3. swing — to play on
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. current — of water
  7. wake — a trail
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. bat — the animal
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. swing — music
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. swing — in golf
  20. stem — to come from
  21. current — electric
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. current — happening now

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