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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 · season · row · game · stem · drill · stick · file

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. file — a document
  3. game — a match
  4. row — a line
  5. spring — the season
  6. drill — the tool
  7. game — wild animals
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. drill — army training
  10. season — of the year
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. drill — a practice
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. spring — a coil
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. file — a line of people
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. spring — of water
  23. row — to paddle
  24. season — in sport

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