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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stem · rule · file · face · branch · clip · pop · mate

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. face — part of the head
  3. pop — music
  4. rule — a law
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a document
  7. pop — soda
  8. clip — for paper
  9. face — to confront
  10. branch — a division
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. rule — government
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mate — a friend
  15. clip — a video
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. stem — to come from
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. mate — to breed
  21. file — a tool
  22. face — to point toward
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. clip — to cut

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