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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: file · stem · mug · fan · squash · spring · clip · row

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. spring — the season
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. spring — a coil
  5. row — a line
  6. squash — the sport
  7. stem — to come from
  8. clip — a video
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. mug — a face
  11. clip — to cut
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. file — a line of people
  14. mug — a cup
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. file — a document
  17. row — to paddle
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. spring — of water
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. clip — for paper
  22. squash — to crush
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. mug — to rob

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