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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. squash — the sport
  3. file — a tool
  4. squash — to crush
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. file — a document
  9. cold — an illness
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — to come from
  13. object — an aim
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. cell — a phone
  17. object — to protest
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — in biology
  21. object — a thing
  22. file — a line of people
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. cold — not warm

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