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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: file · chair · mate · stem · fall · rule · bark · prune

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. file — a tool
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. fall — the season
  5. fall — to drop
  6. file — a line of people
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bark — to shout
  11. file — a document
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. rule — a law
  15. mate — to breed
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. rule — government
  18. mate — a partner
  19. prune — to trim
  20. chair — a leader
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. rule — to rule out

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