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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wound · bowl · scale · stem · mouse · sharp · file · chair

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  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. stem — to come from
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. scale — size or range
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. wound — an injury
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a tool
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. sharp — clever
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. scale — in music
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. chair — a leader
  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