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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: pop · band · rule · stem · bound · mine · fan · face

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. stem — to come from
  4. face — to point toward
  5. rule — a law
  6. band — a ring
  7. face — part of the head
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. rule — government
  10. bound — tied together
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. bound — certain
  15. pop — soda
  16. bound — obliged
  17. pop — music
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. pop — to visit
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. face — to confront
  23. band — a music group
  24. mine — an explosive

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