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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 116 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: straw · mine · object · tear · band · net · stem · bowl

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. net — for catching
  4. object — a thing
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. band — a music group
  11. object — to protest
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. mine — for digging
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. object — an aim
  20. stem — to come from
  21. net — after costs
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. net — in sport
  24. straw — dry grass

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