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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: lash · game · file · chip · stem · fork · march · pitcher

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. file — a document
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. march — music
  6. game — a match
  7. file — a tool
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. chip — for betting
  10. march — the month
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. game — wild animals
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. chip — to eat
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. march — the month
  17. fork — in a road
  18. file — a line of people
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. chip — in a computer
  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