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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 116 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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. stem — to come from
  4. file — a document
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. saw — the tool
  9. file — a tool
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. chip — to eat
  12. saw — the tool
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. firm — decided
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. chip — for betting
  17. file — a line of people
  18. firm — steady
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. firm — a company
  21. capital — a city
  22. march — the month
  23. capital — money
  24. stem — of a plant

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