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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: file · branch · game · roll · bat · ground · stand · cap

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. ground — a position
  4. cap — of ice
  5. game — a match
  6. roll — a cake
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. ground — the earth
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. file — a line of people
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. file — a document
  14. game — wild animals
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cap — a hat
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. bat — the animal
  19. roll — a list
  20. ground — crushed
  21. stand — to bear
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. branch — a division

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