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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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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: last · spell · band · face · cue · wound · bulb · stem

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — magic
  4. wound — an injury
  5. face — to confront
  6. stem — to come from
  7. bulb — for light
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. last — final
  10. cue — a signal
  11. cue — a hint
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. face — to point toward
  14. wound — an injury
  15. last — to go on
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. cue — for pool
  19. spell — a short time
  20. last — finally
  21. face — part of the head
  22. bulb — for light
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a ring

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