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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: stem · nail · tube · season · wound · last · kid · club

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — a group
  4. last — final
  5. club — for golf
  6. wound — an injury
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. tube — a container
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — child
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. season — of the year
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — finally
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. stem — to come from
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. tube — the underground
  19. season — in sport
  20. wound — an injury
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. tube — in a tire

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