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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. stem — to come from
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. band — a music group
  5. ground — the earth
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. band — a ring
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. ground — a position
  10. file — a tool
  11. ground — crushed
  12. file — a line of people
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. kid — child
  15. plane — a tool
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. mate — a partner
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. mate — a friend
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. file — a document
  22. mate — to breed
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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