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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. last — finally
  4. file — a tool
  5. roll — a list
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. swing — music
  8. last — to go on
  9. swing — in golf
  10. last — final
  11. capital — money
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. swing — to play on
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bear — the animal
  18. capital — a city
  19. bear — the animal
  20. roll — a cake
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. file — a line of people
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. stem — to come from

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