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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 116 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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. plane — a tool
  3. file — a line of people
  4. sharp — clever
  5. file — a tool
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. snap — to click
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. file — a document
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bat — the animal
  15. cell — in biology
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. cell — a phone
  19. object — an aim
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. object — to protest
  22. stem — to come from
  23. object — a thing
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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