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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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468
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: ruler · bear · stem · tube · bat · wound · board · march

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. bat — the animal
  4. board — to get on
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. march — music
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. board — a committee
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. tube — a container
  18. bear — the animal
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. bear — the animal
  23. stem — to come from
  24. stem — a stem cell

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