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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 120 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: band · stem · arm · tear · march · rule

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. march — the month
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. march — the month
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rule — a law
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. stem — to come from
  13. march — music
  14. tear — to rip
  15. rule — government
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. tear — from crying
  18. band — a music group

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