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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a line of people
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. mine — for digging
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. squash — the sport
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. squash — to crush
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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