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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. stem — to come from
  3. land — to come down
  4. band — a ring
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. spring — the season
  7. board — to get on
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — of water
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. land — ground
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. foot — a measure
  16. band — a music group
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. land — a country
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. roll — a list
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. board — a committee
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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