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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: present · staff · perch · file · season · land · toast · stem

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. staff — employees
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. present — a gift
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. perch — the fish
  7. land — ground
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. file — a document
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. season — in sport
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. file — a line of people
  15. present — there
  16. stem — to come from
  17. present — the time now
  18. staff — employees
  19. season — of the year
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. toast — bread
  22. land — a country
  23. staff — a stick
  24. land — to come down

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