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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. file — a line of people
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. chip — to eat
  6. stem — to come from
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. file — a tool
  9. snap — to click
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. cell — in biology
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bark — to shout
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. file — a document
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. ground — a position
  23. cell — a phone
  24. chip — for betting

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