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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. field — farmland
  3. file — a document
  4. can — a tin
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. can — to be able to
  7. stem — to come from
  8. ground — crushed
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. field — for sport
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. field — a subject
  14. ground — the earth
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. ground — a position
  17. mark — a trace
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. snap — to click
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. can — a tin
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. mark — a grade

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