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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: prune · last · file · mine · firm · stem · press · roll

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. press — a publisher
  3. last — final
  4. file — a document
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. last — to go on
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. prune — to trim
  10. firm — a company
  11. roll — a list
  12. prune — to trim
  13. mine — for digging
  14. firm — decided
  15. stem — to come from
  16. firm — steady
  17. press — to push
  18. last — finally
  19. file — a line of people
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. file — a tool
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. press — newspapers

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