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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. foot — a measure
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. file — a document
  8. stem — to come from
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. spell — a short time
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. file — a tool
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. file — a line of people
  18. spell — letters
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. spell — magic
  21. bear — the animal
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. foot — the bottom

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