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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. mark — a grade
  3. mark — a trace
  4. file — a document
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. degree — from a university
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. chest — a box
  13. row — to paddle
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. stem — to come from
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. file — a tool
  18. deal — to handle
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. chest — of your body
  21. file — a line of people
  22. degree — temperature
  23. row — a line
  24. degree — an amount

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