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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: field · lie · stem · rest · band · board · rash · prune

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rest — what's left
  3. field — farmland
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. board — to get on
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. field — for sport
  8. band — a music group
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. rash — a series
  11. prune — to trim
  12. rest — what's left
  13. prune — to trim
  14. band — a ring
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. field — a subject
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. rest — a break
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. board — a committee
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. stem — to come from
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. lie — to recline

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