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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: lean · kid · cell · board · band · scale · clip · stem

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. scale — in music
  4. cell — a phone
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. lean — to bend
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. band — a music group
  10. kid — child
  11. clip — to cut
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. lean — thin
  14. band — a ring
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. clip — for paper
  18. board — a committee
  19. scale — size or range
  20. stem — to come from
  21. clip — a video
  22. cell — in biology
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. kid — to tease

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