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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: stem · land · bass · nail · pop · band · season · date

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. season — in sport
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. pop — soda
  6. date — the fruit
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. pop — music
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. band — a ring
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. bass — low music
  13. pop — to visit
  14. land — ground
  15. season — of the year
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bass — the fish
  18. band — a music group
  19. land — to come down
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. land — a country

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