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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: bound · mark · band · shower · sharp · stem

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. bound — obliged
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. mark — a trace
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. bound — certain
  9. band — a music group
  10. shower — rain
  11. sharp — clever
  12. band — a ring
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bound — tied together
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. shower — to wash
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stem — of a plant

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