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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 water is too ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. file — a document
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. press — a publisher
  7. sharp — clever
  8. lean — to bend
  9. cold — an illness
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lean — thin
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. swing — music
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. swing — in golf
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. press — to push
  20. file — a line of people
  21. press — newspapers
  22. file — a tool
  23. stem — to come from
  24. swing — to play on

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