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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. tube — a container
  3. file — a tool
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bulb — for light
  6. scale — in music
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. file — a line of people
  10. bulb — for light
  11. hand — in cards
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. row — a line
  16. hand — help
  17. file — a document
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. tube — the underground
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. scale — size or range

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