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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 116 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: court · stem · dip · hand · rush · band · rule · kid

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. court — of law
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. hand — in cards
  5. band — a music group
  6. dip — to sink
  7. rule — government
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. band — a ring
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. hand — help
  12. rush — hurry
  13. kid — to tease
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. court — for sport
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. court — of a king
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. rule — a law
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. rule — to rule out

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