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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: saw · stem · bass · cold · kid · file · ruler · date

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. cold — not warm
  3. kid — child
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — low music
  9. file — a document
  10. cold — an illness
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. kid — to tease
  14. saw — the tool
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — the fruit
  17. saw — the tool
  18. file — a tool
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bass — the fish

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