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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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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: fine · capital · prune · bat · straw · rest · file · stem

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. file — a document
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. fine — high quality
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. rest — a break
  10. fine — all right
  11. prune — to trim
  12. rest — what's left
  13. file — a line of people
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bat — the animal
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. capital — a city
  18. stem — to come from
  19. file — a tool
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. capital — money
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. capital — a big letter

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