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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: stem · net · tear · date · file · toast · chair · roll

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. chair — a leader
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. roll — a cake
  6. tear — from crying
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. stem — to come from
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. net — in sport
  14. date — the fruit
  15. roll — a list
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. file — a line of people
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. toast — bread
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. net — after costs

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