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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: file · fall · march · bowl · season · stem · kick · chest

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. season — of the year
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. file — a document
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. march — the month
  9. chest — of your body
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. file — a tool
  15. chest — of your body
  16. file — a line of people
  17. season — in sport
  18. march — the month
  19. kick — in football
  20. fall — the season
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. march — music
  24. chest — a box

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