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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.

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: file · press · cold · calf · tube · bass · hand · stem

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. file — a tool
  3. bass — the fish
  4. cold — not warm
  5. tube — the underground
  6. hand — help
  7. file — a line of people
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bass — low music
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. file — a document
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. hand — in cards
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. stem — to come from
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. press — a publisher
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — to push
  22. cold — an illness
  23. tube — a container
  24. stem — a stem cell

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