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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 120 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. wind — moving air
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. stand — to bear
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. band — a ring
  7. key — in music
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. key — for a lock
  11. key — the most important part
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. stem — to come from
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. trunk — of a tree

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