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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: plane · can · kick · stem · cold · rest · tear · file

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. file — a line of people
  3. tear — to rip
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. cold — an illness
  6. tear — from crying
  7. file — a document
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. stem — to come from
  10. rest — a break
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. can — a tin
  13. plane — a tool
  14. rest — what's left
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. can — to be able to
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. kick — in football
  20. rest — what's left
  21. file — a tool
  22. cold — not warm
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. tear — from crying

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