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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. lean — to bend
  5. band — a music group
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. branch — a division
  9. stem — to come from
  10. file — a tool
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. lean — thin
  14. file — a line of people
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. pound — a weight
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. wax — to grow
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. pass — a permit
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. file — a document
  24. pound — to hit hard

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