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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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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: rush · stem · prune · arm · stock · press · file · chair

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. chair — a leader
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. stock — shares
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. prune — to trim
  7. stem — to come from
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. file — a tool
  11. press — newspapers
  12. press — to push
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. prune — to trim
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. press — a publisher
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. rush — hurry
  22. file — a line of people
  23. stock — goods
  24. file — a document

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