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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 120 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: march · bat · stem · kid · spell · rule · file · bank

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. file — a line of people
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. march — the month
  6. rule — government
  7. spell — magic
  8. kid — child
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — of a river
  11. spell — letters
  12. file — a document
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bank — for money
  15. march — the month
  16. rule — a law
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bat — the animal
  19. file — a tool
  20. march — music
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. stem — to come from

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