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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: toast · band · bat · pound · present · stem

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. present — a gift
  3. bat — the animal
  4. stem — to come from
  5. present — the time now
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. present — there
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. band — a music group
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. pound — a weight
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. toast — bread
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. pound — for dogs

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