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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. file — a document
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. mine — for digging
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. cell — a phone
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. rash — hasty
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. file — a tool
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. pound — a weight
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. stem — to come from
  22. rash — a series
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. cell — in biology

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