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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. face — part of the head
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a tool
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. spring — the season
  8. face — to point toward
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. spring — of water
  11. saw — the tool
  12. rush — hurry
  13. stem — to come from
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a leader
  18. saw — the tool
  19. pit — a hole
  20. face — to confront
  21. spring — a coil
  22. file — a line of people
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. pit — in a race

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