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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: stem · saw · last · net · pitch · band

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. band — a music group
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. last — final
  7. last — finally
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. stem — to come from
  11. net — after costs
  12. pitch — completely
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — in sport
  15. last — to go on
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool

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