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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  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 tool
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. file — a line of people
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to click
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. season — of the year
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. content — happy
  15. rush — hurry
  16. content — the amount
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. file — a document
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — to come from
  24. season — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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