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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. file — a line of people
  3. stem — to come from
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. net — after costs
  7. file — a document
  8. craft — boats
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. net — for catching
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — for paper
  16. snap — to click
  17. craft — a skill
  18. file — a tool
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pit — in a race
  22. net — in sport
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. clip — to cut

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