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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: rule · wave · mine · spell · wake · stem · march · kid

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  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. rule — a law
  2. stem — to come from
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. kid — child
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. march — the month
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. march — the month
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. spell — a short time
  14. march — music
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. kid — to tease
  21. wake — a trail
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — magic
  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