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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. rest — what's left
  4. staff — a stick
  5. staff — employees
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. file — a document
  8. degree — from a university
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — of the year
  11. file — a tool
  12. degree — temperature
  13. rest — a break
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. season — in sport
  16. kid — to tease
  17. stem — to come from
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. kid — child
  21. rest — what's left
  22. degree — an amount
  23. staff — employees
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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