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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. face — part of the head
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. stem — to come from
  5. field — for sport
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. wake — a trail
  10. file — a line of people
  11. field — a subject
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. file — a document
  14. kid — to tease
  15. lean — to bend
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. face — to point toward
  18. face — to confront
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. field — farmland
  21. lean — thin
  22. kid — child
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. arm — part of the 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