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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. wound — an injury
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. file — a line of people
  6. wind — moving air
  7. can — a tin
  8. file — a document
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. shower — rain
  14. stem — to come from
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. shower — to wash
  18. file — a tool
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — a subject
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. field — for sport
  23. wind — moving air
  24. can — a tin

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