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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. file — a tool
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. file — a line of people
  6. ground — the earth
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ground — a position
  10. season — in sport
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. season — of the year
  14. file — a document
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. land — to come down
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. land — a country
  20. pop — music
  21. land — ground
  22. pop — to visit
  23. pop — soda
  24. pitch — completely

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