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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 · saw · cabinet · dip · tube · pop · stem · band

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. saw — the tool
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. band — a ring
  5. pop — music
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. tube — a container
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. dip — to sink
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. chest — of your body
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. tube — the underground
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — to come from
  20. band — a music group
  21. pop — soda
  22. chest — a box
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. saw — the tool

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