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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. stem — to come from
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. chip — for betting
  7. cell — a phone
  8. dip — to sink
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. kid — to tease
  11. file — a line of people
  12. chip — to eat
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. file — a tool
  18. cell — in biology
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. file — a document
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. snap — to click
  24. stem — a stem cell

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