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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: bowl · band · cell · bass · date · ground · ruler · stem

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. stem — to come from
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a music group
  10. ground — crushed
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. ground — a position
  13. date — the fruit
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bass — low music
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bass — the fish
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. cell — in biology
  22. ground — the earth
  23. cell — a phone
  24. date — on the calendar

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