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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: stem · saw · rule · mine · band · game · degree · pitcher

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. stem — to come from
  3. degree — from a university
  4. band — a ring
  5. mine — for digging
  6. degree — an amount
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. game — wild animals
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. band — a music group
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. rule — a law
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. game — a match
  23. degree — temperature
  24. rule — government

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