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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 120 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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. mine — for digging
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. spring — of water
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bore — to drill
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. stem — to come from
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wake — a trail
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bore — to tire
  15. band — a music group
  16. saw — the tool
  17. band — a ring
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. spring — the season
  24. mine — an explosive

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