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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. kid — to tease
  3. file — a line of people
  4. suit — clothes
  5. stem — to come from
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. game — wild animals
  9. suit — in cards
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. field — a subject
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. file — a document
  15. saw — the tool
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. file — a tool
  20. game — a match
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. saw — the tool
  23. wind — moving air
  24. suit — to fit

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