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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. race — the arms race
  4. kid — to tease
  5. present — a gift
  6. file — a document
  7. kid — child
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. race — humankind
  11. row — to paddle
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — there
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. race — a contest
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. pitch — completely
  18. file — a tool
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. file — a line of people
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. stem — to come from
  23. row — a line
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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