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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. file — a tool
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. scale — size or range
  6. file — a document
  7. dip — to sink
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. chip — for betting
  10. cold — not warm
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — to bend
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. vault — a safe
  15. cold — an illness
  16. scale — in music
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. chip — to eat
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. file — a line of people
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. stem — to come from
  24. dip — to dunk

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