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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: cold · track · file · ground · pit · stem · bowl · charge

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. file — a line of people
  3. track — to keep track
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. stem — to come from
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. track — a path
  9. charge — in control
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. file — a document
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. ground — the earth
  15. cold — an illness
  16. ground — a position
  17. charge — a price
  18. pit — in a race
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. ground — crushed
  21. pit — a hole
  22. track — a song
  23. file — a tool
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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