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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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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: hand · roll · stem · file · staff · bat · can · degree

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. file — a document
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. degree — temperature
  5. can — a tin
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. roll — a cake
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. can — a tin
  11. bat — the animal
  12. can — to be able to
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. degree — from a university
  16. hand — in cards
  17. staff — a stick
  18. roll — a list
  19. stem — to come from
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. staff — employees
  22. degree — an amount
  23. file — a tool
  24. roll — on a roll

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