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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: stem · object · last · bore · band · dip · mine · mark

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. mark — a trace
  4. dip — to sink
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a grade
  9. band — a ring
  10. bore — to drill
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. band — a music group
  14. object — to protest
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. last — final
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. bore — to tire
  19. stem — to come from
  20. object — an aim
  21. object — a thing
  22. last — finally
  23. last — to go on
  24. band — a rubber band

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