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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: rule · kid · cap · file · stem · tear

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. file — a line of people
  4. kid — child
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — to tease
  9. cap — a lid
  10. file — a tool
  11. cap — of ice
  12. rule — a law
  13. tear — to rip
  14. file — a document
  15. cap — a hat
  16. rule — government
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. stem — of a plant

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