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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: stem · kid · stand · prune · key · file · chest · jam

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. prune — to trim
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. key — in music
  8. prune — to trim
  9. file — a document
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a tool
  13. chest — of your body
  14. key — for a lock
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. chest — a box
  17. stand — to bear
  18. chest — of your body
  19. key — the most important part
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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