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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 120 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: band · land · drill · stand · craft · wound · stem · chest

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. land — ground
  3. band — a ring
  4. land — to come down
  5. drill — a practice
  6. stem — to come from
  7. band — a music group
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. drill — army training
  10. land — a country
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. drill — the tool
  14. stand — to bear
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. chest — of your body
  17. craft — a skill
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. chest — a box
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. chest — of your body
  23. craft — boats
  24. craft — a handicraft

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