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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: track · mine · bowl · cell · capital · band · stem · nail

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. band — a music group
  4. mine — for digging
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. band — a ring
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. track — a path
  12. capital — money
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. track — to keep track
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. capital — a city
  21. cell — in biology
  22. track — a song
  23. bowl — to roll
  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