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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 120 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: stem · staff · rule · file · bear · bat · scale · ground

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — the animal
  5. file — a line of people
  6. scale — size or range
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. staff — employees
  10. bear — the animal
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — the earth
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. ground — crushed
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. scale — in music
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. rule — a law
  19. rule — government
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. staff — employees
  23. bear — the animal
  24. scale — for weighing

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