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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 116 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: club · band · tube · scale · mark · bat · wound · stem

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  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. mark — a grade
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. tube — the underground
  8. mark — a trace
  9. bat — the animal
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — a group
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. band — a music group
  14. club — for golf
  15. wound — an injury
  16. scale — in music
  17. stem — to come from
  18. band — a ring
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. scale — size or range
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. tube — a container
  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