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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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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: file · stem · bowl · calf · land · pop · pass · field

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. land — ground
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. pop — to visit
  11. field — farmland
  12. file — a tool
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. stem — to come from
  15. field — a subject
  16. file — a document
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. pop — soda
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. pop — music
  21. land — to come down
  22. pass — a permit
  23. field — for sport
  24. land — a country

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