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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 120 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: cabinet · saw · bass · row · fine · stem · bat · band

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a music group
  5. row — a line
  6. bass — low music
  7. bat — the animal
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. stem — to come from
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. fine — all right
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. saw — the tool
  17. row — to paddle
  18. fine — high quality
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. bat — for baseball

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