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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: cold · prune · rule · key · mate · stand · stem · march

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. stand — to bear
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. rule — government
  7. prune — to trim
  8. key — for a lock
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. stem — to come from
  11. mate — a partner
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. cold — not warm
  14. prune — to trim
  15. mate — a friend
  16. key — the most important part
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. march — the month
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. mate — to breed
  22. key — in music
  23. march — the month
  24. rule — a law

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