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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. stem — to come from
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. land — ground
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. land — to come down
  8. court — for sport
  9. wind — moving air
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. band — a ring
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. land — a country
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. wind — moving air
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. court — of a king
  20. row — a line
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. row — to paddle
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. court — of law

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