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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. swing — in golf
  3. band — a ring
  4. chest — of your body
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. fall — to drop
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. band — a music group
  9. swing — to play on
  10. land — ground
  11. drill — a practice
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. land — to come down
  14. fall — the season
  15. drill — army training
  16. stem — to come from
  17. drill — the tool
  18. chest — a box
  19. swing — music
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. chest — of your body
  22. fall — to drop
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. land — a country

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