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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. board — a committee
  3. file — a document
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — of ice
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. spell — magic
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. spell — letters
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a line of people
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. row — a line
  16. kid — to tease
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. row — to paddle
  19. board — to get on
  20. kid — child
  21. stem — to come from
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. stem — a stem cell

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