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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: chest · stem · craft · board · spell · band · rock · leaves

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. chest — of your body
  3. craft — boats
  4. rock — a stone
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. spell — letters
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. board — to get on
  10. craft — a skill
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. chest — a box
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. spell — magic
  20. chest — of your body
  21. board — a committee
  22. band — a music group
  23. spell — a short time
  24. stem — to come from

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