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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 · chest · ground · hand · stem · pop · saw · fine

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. stem — to come from
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pop — music
  7. ground — a position
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. fine — all right
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pop — to visit
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — the earth
  14. hand — help
  15. pop — soda
  16. band — a music group
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. hand — in cards
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. chest — a box
  21. band — a ring
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fine — high quality

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