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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: spring · stem · kick · band · march · shower · staff · racket

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. staff — a stick
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. march — music
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. staff — employees
  7. shower — rain
  8. march — the month
  9. band — a music group
  10. spring — a coil
  11. shower — to wash
  12. band — a ring
  13. stem — to come from
  14. staff — employees
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. spring — of water
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. spring — the season
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. march — the month
  24. racket — for tennis

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