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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 124 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. chest — a box
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. season — in sport
  5. deal — to handle
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. file — a tool
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. stem — to come from
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. squash — to crush
  13. pound — a weight
  14. season — of the year
  15. file — a line of people
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. chest — of your body
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. file — a document
  22. tear — to rip
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. chest — of your body

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