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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. file — a document
  3. file — a tool
  4. prune — to trim
  5. hand — in cards
  6. rest — a break
  7. file — a line of people
  8. rest — what's left
  9. hand — help
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. cap — of ice
  14. date — the fruit
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. cap — a hat
  18. rest — what's left
  19. prune — to trim
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. cap — a lid
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — to tease
  24. kid — child

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