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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 116 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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. root — of a word
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a line of people
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. stem — to come from
  13. root — of a plant
  14. file — a document
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. prune — to trim
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. saw — the tool
  19. rush — hurry
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. root — the cause
  22. dip — to sink
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. kick — in football

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