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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: leaves · last · band · rush · squash · ground · bat · stem

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. ground — the earth
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. last — final
  9. ground — crushed
  10. band — a music group
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. last — to go on
  13. squash — to crush
  14. squash — the sport
  15. bat — the animal
  16. last — finally
  17. stem — to come from
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. band — a ring
  21. ground — a position
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. rush — hurry

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