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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: stem · season · ground · date · file · object · land · bear

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. ground — the earth
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. land — to come down
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. land — ground
  7. land — a country
  8. season — of the year
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. file — a tool
  11. object — to protest
  12. object — a thing
  13. bear — the animal
  14. season — in sport
  15. stem — to come from
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. ground — crushed
  18. object — an aim
  19. date — the fruit
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bear — the animal
  22. ground — a position
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. file — a document

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