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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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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: stem · fork · rash · pass · cold · plane · date · net

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. net — after costs
  6. cold — not warm
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. fork — in a road
  10. plane — a tool
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. rash — a series
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. rash — hasty
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — in sport
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. pass — a permit
  22. date — the fruit
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. fork — to eat with

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