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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. season — in sport
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. board — a committee
  11. board — to get on
  12. pound — a weight
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a line
  15. cell — a phone
  16. band — a music group
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. stem — to come from
  20. cell — in biology
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. band — a ring
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. pound — for dogs

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