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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: can · mine · stem · capital · date · bass · branch · bat

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bass — the fish
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bass — low music
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. can — a tin
  7. branch — a division
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. date — the fruit
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. capital — money
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. bat — the animal
  19. can — to be able to
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. capital — a city
  22. stem — to come from
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. can — a tin

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