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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: jam · ground · stem · cold · row · fall · ruler · saw

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. saw — the tool
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. ground — a position
  7. cold — not warm
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. row — a line
  13. row — to paddle
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. fall — to drop
  16. ground — the earth
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. cold — an illness
  19. fall — to drop
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. stem — to come from
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ground — crushed
  24. fall — the season

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