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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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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. row — to paddle
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. row — a line
  6. net — after costs
  7. mate — a friend
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. mate — a partner
  10. snap — to click
  11. ball — a dance
  12. file — a line of people
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. net — in sport
  15. stem — to come from
  16. file — a document
  17. net — for catching
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. mate — to breed
  20. ball — a great time
  21. prune — to trim
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — the fruit

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