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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 walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. file — a tool
  3. bear — the animal
  4. cold — not warm
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. stand — to bear
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. bear — the animal
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. file — a document
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. stem — to come from
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. band — a music group
  17. rash — hasty
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — an illness
  20. rash — a series
  21. fork — in a road
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. band — a ring
  24. stem — a stem cell

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