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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: hand · last · ruler · stem · rock · kid · mine · racket

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. last — final
  4. last — to go on
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. stem — to come from
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. hand — in cards
  13. mine — for digging
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. kid — to tease
  20. hand — help
  21. last — finally
  22. rock — music
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. rock — a stone

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