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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. mine — for digging
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. perch — the fish
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. file — a tool
  8. net — in sport
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. season — of the year
  11. file — a document
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. season — in sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — after costs
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. wake — a trail
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. wake — before a funeral

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