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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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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: file · stem · club · bank · cabinet · mine · band · rush

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. mine — for digging
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. rush — hurry
  5. band — a music group
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. bank — for money
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. stem — to come from
  14. file — a document
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bank — of a river
  17. file — a tool
  18. bank — for money
  19. file — a line of people
  20. club — for dancing
  21. club — a group
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. 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