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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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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: ground · mouse · stem · roll · wind · date · band · rest

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. ground — a position
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. wind — moving air
  15. date — the fruit
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — a break
  18. band — a music group
  19. roll — a cake
  20. roll — a list
  21. rest — what's left
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — the earth

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