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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: straw · file · mate · swing · stem · fall · kid · band

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. file — a document
  3. mate — a friend
  4. swing — in golf
  5. mate — a partner
  6. swing — music
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. mate — to breed
  11. band — a ring
  12. kid — to tease
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. fall — the season
  15. kid — child
  16. band — a music group
  17. stem — to come from
  18. swing — to play on
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. file — a tool
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. straw — dry grass

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