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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. pound — a weight
  3. cold — an illness
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a document
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. race — humankind
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. stem — to come from
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. race — a contest
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. cold — not warm
  21. race — the arms race
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. plane — a tool
  24. stand — to bear

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