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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: rest · spell · squash · stem · band · spring · cabinet · pit

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. spell — a short time
  3. band — a music group
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. spell — letters
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a ring
  8. squash — the sport
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. rest — what's left
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. rest — what's left
  13. squash — to crush
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — the season
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spell — magic
  20. rest — a break
  21. pit — a hole
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. pit — in a race

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