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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 116 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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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: bear · fall · pound · pit · last · file · stem · calf

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. last — to go on
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. bear — the animal
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pound — a weight
  11. fall — to drop
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. last — final
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a document
  18. last — finally
  19. file — a line of people
  20. bear — the animal
  21. pit — in a race
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. fall — the season
  24. fall — to drop

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