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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hand — help
  4. file — a line of people
  5. firm — steady
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. file — a document
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. file — a tool
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. firm — a company
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — to come from
  16. hand — in cards
  17. firm — decided
  18. hand — part of the body

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