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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: saw · capital · stem · ball · dip · band · wound · prune

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. capital — money
  3. saw — the tool
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. saw — the tool
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a great time
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. dip — to sink
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. prune — to trim
  17. capital — a city
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. band — a ring
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. band — a music group
  24. stem — to come from

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