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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: march · chip · stem · band · craft · club · spring · fan

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  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. stem — a stem cell
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. march — the month
  4. spring — the season
  5. craft — boats
  6. club — for golf
  7. spring — a coil
  8. chip — to eat
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. march — the month
  11. craft — a skill
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. spring — of water
  14. march — music
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a ring
  19. club — for dancing
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. club — a group
  22. stem — to come from
  23. chip — for betting
  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