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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mine · stem · band · wound · jam · coach

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. wound — an injury
  4. band — a music group
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. band — a ring
  7. wound — an injury
  8. stem — to come from
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. jam — in traffic

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