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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: band · stem · lie · racket · file · staff · current · game

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. staff — employees
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a music group
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. current — electric
  10. staff — a stick
  11. lie — to recline
  12. stem — to come from
  13. game — a match
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. staff — employees
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. game — wild animals
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a document
  23. current — of water
  24. lie — an untruth

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