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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: wind · season · rule · stem · date · rest

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. date — the fruit
  5. season — in sport
  6. rest — what's left
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. season — of the year
  11. rule — government
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rest — a break
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rest — what's left
  18. stem — to come from

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