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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stem · wake · calf · band · wound · game · last · fall

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. last — to go on
  3. band — a ring
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. stem — to come from
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. game — a match
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. fall — the season
  16. band — a music group
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. last — final
  20. game — wild animals
  21. last — finally
  22. fall — to drop
  23. wound — an injury
  24. fall — to drop

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