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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. craft — boats
  3. file — a document
  4. craft — a skill
  5. kid — child
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. file — a tool
  8. stem — to come from
  9. tube — the underground
  10. tube — a container
  11. mug — a cup
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mug — a face
  16. mark — a grade
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. bat — the animal
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. mark — a trace
  23. file — a line of people
  24. bat — for baseball

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