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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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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: prune · mark · stem · bulb · band · swing · face · race

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. race — a contest
  4. prune — to trim
  5. face — part of the head
  6. mark — a grade
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. band — a ring
  14. face — to point toward
  15. mark — a trace
  16. bulb — for light
  17. swing — music
  18. race — humankind
  19. face — to confront
  20. swing — to play on
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — to come from
  23. swing — in golf
  24. race — the arms race

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