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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 116 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stem — to come from
  8. track — a song
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. track — to keep track
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. file — a document
  16. rash — hasty
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. track — a path
  20. snap — to click
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. file — a line of people
  24. rash — a series

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