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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: sharp · foot · roll · ground · straw · stem · pitcher · file

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. file — a document
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. roll — a cake
  8. roll — a list
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. file — a tool
  12. sharp — clever
  13. foot — a measure
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. ground — a position
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. ground — crushed
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. file — a line of people
  22. ground — the earth
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. pitcher — a jug

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