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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 124 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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. stem — to come from
  3. lie — to recline
  4. file — a line of people
  5. mug — to rob
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. ground — crushed
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. charge — electricity
  11. charge — a price
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. game — a match
  14. hand — help
  15. file — a tool
  16. game — wild animals
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. ground — a position
  19. charge — in control
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. mug — a cup
  22. ground — the earth
  23. hand — in cards
  24. file — a document

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