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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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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: nail · perch · cold · tube · rock · stem · bank · season

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. bank — for money
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. stem — to come from
  7. season — in sport
  8. tube — the underground
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. rock — music
  11. bank — for money
  12. tube — a container
  13. cold — an illness
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bank — of a river
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. cold — not warm
  19. season — of the year
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. perch — the fish
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. cold — the Cold War

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