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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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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: pitch · file · cap · march · ground · tear · stem · cabinet

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. ground — a position
  3. file — a line of people
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pitch — completely
  9. cap — a lid
  10. file — a tool
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stem — to come from
  15. march — music
  16. ground — crushed
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. tear — from crying
  19. file — a document
  20. tear — to rip
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. ground — the earth
  24. march — the month

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