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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: wound · mark · bass · land · capital · stem · pop · vault

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. pop — to visit
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. pop — music
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — a city
  10. wound — an injury
  11. land — a country
  12. bass — the fish
  13. mark — a trace
  14. land — to come down
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. pop — soda
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. vault — a safe
  19. bass — low music
  20. mark — a grade
  21. stem — to come from
  22. capital — money
  23. wound — an injury
  24. land — ground

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