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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: shower · foot · lean · stand · ground · band · object · stem

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. object — to protest
  3. shower — to wash
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. stand — to bear
  6. lean — thin
  7. object — a thing
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. object — an aim
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — the earth
  17. shower — rain
  18. foot — a measure
  19. lean — to bend
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. band — a music group
  22. stem — to come from
  23. ground — crushed
  24. stand — on your feet

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