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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. file — a tool
  5. content — the amount
  6. root — the cause
  7. race — the arms race
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. race — humankind
  10. content — happy
  11. wind — moving air
  12. race — a contest
  13. cell — in biology
  14. root — of a word
  15. root — of a plant
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — a phone
  18. wind — moving air
  19. row — a line
  20. stem — to come from
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. file — a line of people
  23. row — to paddle
  24. wind — to turn a key

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