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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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Word bank
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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: bark · lie · game · last · stem · band

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. band — a ring
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. last — to go on
  7. stem — to come from
  8. band — a music group
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. game — a match
  11. last — final
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. last — finally
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. lie — to recline
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bark — to shout

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