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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 ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. stem — to come from
  3. ground — a position
  4. bear — the animal
  5. fall — the season
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. fall — to drop
  8. pop — music
  9. file — a tool
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. pop — soda
  12. ground — the earth
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. scale — size or range
  16. scale — in music
  17. pop — to visit
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. fall — to drop
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a line of people
  23. ground — crushed
  24. bear — the animal

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