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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a ring
  3. pop — soda
  4. pop — music
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. snap — to click
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. land — to come down
  10. season — of the year
  11. bulb — for light
  12. pop — to visit
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. bulb — for light
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. land — ground
  17. season — in sport
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. land — a country
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. bulb — of a plant

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