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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: spring · file · spell · stem · racket · jam · saw · scale

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. spell — magic
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. scale — in music
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stem — to come from
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spell — letters
  10. spring — of water
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. spring — the season
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. spell — a short time
  15. file — a document
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. file — a line of people
  21. scale — size or range
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. stem — a stem cell

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