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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: mate · stem · band · clip · object · cabinet · cold · coach

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. mate — a partner
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. mate — a friend
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. clip — to cut
  9. object — an aim
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. object — to protest
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. stem — to come from
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. mate — to breed
  19. clip — a video
  20. cold — not warm
  21. object — a thing
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. clip — for paper

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