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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: fall · file · foot · wake · club · stem · spell · game

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  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. wake — before a funeral
  3. club — for golf
  4. stem — to come from
  5. foot — a measure
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. spell — letters
  9. file — a document
  10. fall — the season
  11. fall — to drop
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. club — for dancing
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. game — wild animals
  17. spell — a short time
  18. wake — a trail
  19. spell — magic
  20. club — a group
  21. game — a match
  22. fall — to drop
  23. foot — part of the body
  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