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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 116 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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. band — a music group
  3. mate — a partner
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. drill — army training
  7. mate — to breed
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. mate — a friend
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. pound — a weight
  15. drill — a practice
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rush — hurry
  18. band — a ring
  19. stem — to come from
  20. drill — the tool
  21. cell — in biology
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. rush — to hurry

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