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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. band — a ring
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — a stick
  5. bore — to tire
  6. band — a music group
  7. stem — to come from
  8. land — a country
  9. land — to come down
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. staff — employees
  14. land — ground
  15. bank — for money
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. last — to go on
  18. bore — to drill
  19. last — finally
  20. bank — of a river
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bank — for money
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — a stem cell

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