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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 120 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: band · land · bore · wind · stock · can · field · stem

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. band — a ring
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. field — for sport
  7. stock — goods
  8. bore — to drill
  9. land — ground
  10. can — a tin
  11. bore — to tire
  12. stock — shares
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. can — to be able to
  18. land — a country
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. field — a subject
  21. land — to come down
  22. field — farmland
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. band — a music group

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