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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 116 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: band · hide · stem · bank · pitch · last · season · kid

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bank — for money
  6. band — a ring
  7. last — final
  8. kid — child
  9. season — of the year
  10. kid — to tease
  11. season — in sport
  12. bank — for money
  13. last — to go on
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. pitch — completely
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. last — finally
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bank — of a river
  23. band — a music group
  24. stem — a stem cell

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