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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. pound — a weight
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. file — a document
  5. club — a group
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bass — low music
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. club — for dancing
  16. file — a line of people
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. club — for golf
  21. file — a tool
  22. hand — in cards
  23. rule — a law
  24. rule — government

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