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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. wake — a trail
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. cold — not warm
  8. foot — a measure
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. bank — of a river
  14. bank — for money
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. band — a ring
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. cold — an illness
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. bank — for money

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