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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: file · drill · mark · pass · stem · stock · pop · game

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. mark — a grade
  6. stock — shares
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. drill — army training
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stock — goods
  11. pop — soda
  12. file — a document
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. file — a tool
  15. drill — the tool
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. drill — a practice
  18. pop — to visit
  19. mark — a trace
  20. file — a line of people
  21. stem — to come from
  22. game — wild animals
  23. pop — music
  24. game — a match

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