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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. file — a line of people
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. ground — the earth
  5. roll — a list
  6. ground — crushed
  7. march — the month
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. roll — a cake
  10. staff — employees
  11. file — a tool
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fork — in a road
  15. stem — to come from
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. file — a document
  19. staff — a stick
  20. ground — a position
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. staff — employees

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