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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 120 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. prune — to trim
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. stem — to come from
  5. track — to keep track
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bound — tied together
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. scale — size or range
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. track — a song
  17. scale — in music
  18. track — a path
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. file — a document
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. bound — certain
  23. pitch — completely
  24. file — a tool

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