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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 116 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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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: wind · fine · kid · stem · file · mark · present · rush

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. wind — moving air
  4. present — a gift
  5. fine — all right
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. present — there
  8. stem — to come from
  9. file — a line of people
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. mark — a grade
  13. kid — child
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. wind — moving air
  16. file — a tool
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. fine — high quality
  20. file — a document
  21. rush — hurry
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. present — the time now
  24. mark — a trace

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