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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. bat — the animal
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. band — a music group
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. current — happening now
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. cell — in biology
  10. stand — to bear
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. wind — moving air
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. cell — a phone
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. current — electric
  22. band — a ring
  23. wind — moving air
  24. current — of water

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