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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: row · band · last · cold · board · root · pitcher · stem

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. cold — not warm
  4. board — a committee
  5. row — to paddle
  6. band — a ring
  7. root — of a word
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. last — final
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. band — a music group
  13. board — to get on
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. stem — to come from
  17. row — a line
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a plant
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. last — finally
  24. board — a flat piece

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