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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. squash — to crush
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. court — of a king
  5. file — a document
  6. squash — the sport
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. wind — moving air
  10. kid — to tease
  11. file — a tool
  12. court — for sport
  13. kid — child
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. sharp — clever
  18. court — of law
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. wind — moving air
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. stem — to come from
  24. stem — a stem cell

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