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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.

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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: rest · file · fine · kid · land · pitch · scale · stem

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. rest — what's left
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — ground
  5. rest — a break
  6. kid — child
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. rest — what's left
  10. file — a line of people
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. scale — in music
  14. land — a country
  15. pitch — completely
  16. file — a document
  17. fine — all right
  18. scale — size or range
  19. fine — high quality
  20. kid — to tease
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. file — a tool
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — to come from

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