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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. file — a document
  3. mate — to breed
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a tool
  7. suit — to fit
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. hand — help
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. suit — in cards
  16. field — for sport
  17. stem — to come from
  18. hand — in cards
  19. suit — clothes
  20. mate — a friend
  21. field — a subject
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. bat — the animal
  24. field — farmland

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