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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: band · scale · lie · kid · stem · land · nail · rule

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. band — a music group
  3. rule — government
  4. lie — to recline
  5. rule — a law
  6. scale — size or range
  7. land — to come down
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. land — ground
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. scale — in music
  17. band — a ring
  18. kid — child
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. land — a country
  21. kid — to tease
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. stem — to come from

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