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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. bound — certain
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. roll — a cake
  7. chest — of your body
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. band — a music group
  10. stem — to come from
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. chest — of your body
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. row — to paddle
  16. chest — a box
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. row — a line
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. fork — in a road
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bound — obliged
  24. roll — a list

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