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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: ground · dip · file · bass · band · leaves · stem · game

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. game — a match
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. file — a tool
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. bass — the fish
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. file — a line of people
  11. dip — to sink
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. ground — a position
  16. file — a document
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a ring
  19. ground — the earth
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bass — low music
  24. ground — crushed

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