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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. plane — a tool
  3. spell — a short time
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. cold — not warm
  9. stem — to come from
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. hand — help
  15. spell — letters
  16. file — a document
  17. spell — magic
  18. file — a line of people
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. hand — in cards
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. kick — in football
  24. plane — in geometry

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