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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 was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. game — wild animals
  3. swing — to play on
  4. cell — in biology
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. file — a line of people
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cell — a phone
  10. file — a document
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. swing — music
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — to come from
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. swing — in golf
  19. tube — a container
  20. game — a match
  21. tube — the underground
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. file — a tool

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