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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: band · tear · board · pitcher · rule · stem · arm · spring

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. spring — the season
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. stem — to come from
  6. spring — of water
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. tear — from crying
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. rule — a law
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. band — a ring
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. board — a committee
  17. tear — to rip
  18. board — to get on
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. spring — a coil
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rule — government
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. tear — from crying

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