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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: craft · bark · band · rock · roll · saw · stem · tube

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. rock — music
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. craft — boats
  6. roll — a list
  7. saw — the tool
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. tube — the underground
  13. saw — the tool
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a music group
  16. bark — to shout
  17. stem — to come from
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. craft — a skill
  20. roll — a cake
  21. rock — a stone
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. stem — a stem cell

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