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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: lash · march · face · court · fall · field · file · stem

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. march — music
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. file — a document
  8. court — of a king
  9. fall — the season
  10. field — a subject
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. march — the month
  13. face — to confront
  14. march — the month
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. field — for sport
  17. face — to point toward
  18. court — of law
  19. fall — to drop
  20. face — part of the head
  21. fall — to drop
  22. field — farmland
  23. court — for sport
  24. file — a tool

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