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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. spell — a short time
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bark — to shout
  9. wound — an injury
  10. file — a document
  11. spell — magic
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. hand — help
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. file — a tool
  19. season — of the year
  20. spell — letters
  21. stem — to come from
  22. wound — an injury
  23. hand — in cards
  24. season — in sport

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