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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: pit · stem · band · rock · game · kid

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. band — a ring
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. band — a music group
  6. rock — music
  7. stem — to come from
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. kid — child
  10. rock — a stone
  11. kid — to tease
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. game — a match
  14. game — wild animals
  15. pit — a hole
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. pit — in a race
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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