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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a ring
  4. rash — a series
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. net — after costs
  7. drill — the tool
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. fall — the season
  10. land — a country
  11. drill — army training
  12. net — for catching
  13. rash — hasty
  14. drill — a practice
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. net — in sport
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. branch — a division
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. fall — to drop
  23. stem — to come from
  24. land — to come down

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