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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: plane · stem · land · straw · chair · rest · sharp · file

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. land — to come down
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. sharp — clever
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. rest — what's left
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. land — ground
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. stem — to come from
  14. rest — a break
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. land — a country
  17. file — a document
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. chair — a leader
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a tool
  22. rest — what's left
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — an aircraft

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