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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ground · stand · pop · chest · bulb · fork · file · rush

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. stand — to bear
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. ground — the earth
  7. chest — of your body
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. pop — soda
  12. bulb — for light
  13. ground — crushed
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rush — hurry
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. fork — in a road
  18. bulb — for light
  19. file — a document
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. chest — a box
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. ground — a position
  24. pop — music

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