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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: pop · band · stem · cell · wind · staff

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  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. wind — moving air
  3. pop — soda
  4. wind — moving air
  5. staff — a stick
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. stem — to come from
  8. cell — a phone
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. staff — employees
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. cell — in biology
  14. staff — employees
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. pop — music
  17. pop — to visit
  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