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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: file · wind · wound · rash · march · object · firm · stem

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rash — a series
  4. wind — moving air
  5. file — a document
  6. firm — steady
  7. march — the month
  8. wound — an injury
  9. firm — decided
  10. march — the month
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — to come from
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. firm — a company
  16. object — a thing
  17. rash — hasty
  18. march — music
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. object — to protest
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a tool
  24. object — an aim

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