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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: date · fork · file · patient · cell · straw · swing · stem

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. swing — in golf
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. cell — a phone
  5. fork — in a road
  6. cell — in biology
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. file — a document
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. date — the fruit
  15. file — a tool
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. file — a line of people
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — to play on
  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