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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: cell · kick · band · cold · scale · stem

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. scale — size or range
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. cell — a phone
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. cold — an illness
  7. kick — in football
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. band — a music group
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. cold — not warm
  15. stem — to come from
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. cell — in biology
  18. band — a ring

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