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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. can — a tin
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. can — to be able to
  6. stand — to bear
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. stem — to come from
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. court — for sport
  13. bark — to shout
  14. court — of a king
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. band — a ring
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. scale — in music
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. can — a tin
  23. band — a music group
  24. scale — size or range

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