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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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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: cold · board · tube · bay · cabinet · band · stem · bore

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. cold — not warm
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. band — a ring
  7. bore — to drill
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. tube — the underground
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. board — a committee
  16. board — to get on
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. band — a music group
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. tube — a container
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. band — a rubber band

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