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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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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: stem · rock · file · net · wind · spell · wake · fork

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. file — a line of people
  3. stem — to come from
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — in sport
  11. rock — music
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. wake — a trail
  15. fork — in a road
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — letters
  20. net — after costs
  21. wind — moving air
  22. rock — a stone
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a document

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