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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: row · stem · mouse · land · ball · plane · swing · band

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. swing — to play on
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. swing — music
  6. land — to come down
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. ball — a great time
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. stem — to come from
  12. band — a ring
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. swing — in golf
  15. ball — a dance
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. row — to paddle
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. row — a line
  22. band — a music group
  23. plane — a tool
  24. land — a country

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