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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: pitch · fall · file · degree · cabinet · stem · face · ground

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. pitch — completely
  3. degree — an amount
  4. file — a document
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. file — a tool
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. fall — to drop
  10. ground — the earth
  11. stem — to come from
  12. ground — crushed
  13. degree — from a university
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. face — to point toward
  16. degree — temperature
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to confront
  20. fall — to drop
  21. ground — a position
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. file — a line of people
  24. fall — the season

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