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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. mate — a partner
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a document
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — a contest
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — the sport
  10. can — to be able to
  11. kid — child
  12. file — a line of people
  13. race — the arms race
  14. mate — a friend
  15. squash — to crush
  16. mark — a trace
  17. mark — a grade
  18. kid — to tease
  19. stem — to come from
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. mate — to breed
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. can — a tin

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