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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 116 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 · ground · lean · file · straw · plane

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. lean — thin
  3. ground — the earth
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. ground — crushed
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. file — a line of people
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. plane — a tool
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. lean — to bend
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a tool
  18. ground — a position

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