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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. chip — to eat
  4. rush — hurry
  5. march — the month
  6. pop — music
  7. pop — to visit
  8. wax — to grow
  9. last — final
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. stem — to come from
  12. last — finally
  13. pop — soda
  14. file — a tool
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. march — the month
  18. last — to go on
  19. march — music
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. file — a line of people
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chip — for betting

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