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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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Word bank
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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: present · stem · mark · court · band · chest · spring · mate

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. chest — of your body
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. mate — a partner
  7. chest — of your body
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mark — a grade
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. present — the time now
  12. court — of a king
  13. stem — to come from
  14. court — of law
  15. spring — of water
  16. chest — a box
  17. mate — to breed
  18. present — there
  19. spring — the season
  20. court — for sport
  21. mark — a trace
  22. spring — a coil
  23. band — a music group
  24. stem — 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