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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 120 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a document
  4. race — a contest
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. cold — an illness
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pop — music
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. race — the arms race
  14. stem — to come from
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. race — humankind
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. kick — in football
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. dip — to sink
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pop — soda
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. pitch — completely

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