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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. file — a line of people
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. rush — hurry
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. file — a document
  9. stem — to come from
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. field — a subject
  13. mark — a trace
  14. firm — decided
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. foot — a measure
  17. mark — a grade
  18. firm — steady
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. file — a tool
  21. firm — a company
  22. field — farmland
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. field — for sport

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