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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. season — in sport
  3. game — a match
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. last — to go on
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. file — a document
  8. last — final
  9. stem — to come from
  10. chip — for betting
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. game — wild animals
  14. bear — the animal
  15. last — finally
  16. ground — crushed
  17. file — a tool
  18. chip — to eat
  19. bear — the animal
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. ground — the earth
  23. file — a line of people
  24. season — of the year

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