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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: cabinet · cap · game · ground · file · spring · stem · arm

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. file — a line of people
  3. game — wild animals
  4. ground — a position
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. spring — a coil
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a lid
  10. spring — the season
  11. ground — crushed
  12. spring — of water
  13. stem — to come from
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. game — a match
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. cap — a hat
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a document
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — of a plant

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