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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: key · craft · tear · bat · bank · bound · band · stem

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. key — the most important part
  3. bound — certain
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bank — for money
  6. craft — boats
  7. bank — of a river
  8. key — in music
  9. key — for a lock
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bank — for money
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bound — tied together
  14. band — a music group
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. tear — to rip
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. craft — a skill
  21. band — a ring
  22. bound — obliged
  23. stem — of a plant
  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