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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: pass · mark · bound · band · capital · stem · roll · prune

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. capital — a city
  3. mark — a grade
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. stem — to come from
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. roll — a cake
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. bound — certain
  11. prune — to trim
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. roll — a list
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bound — tied together
  17. band — a ring
  18. pass — a permit
  19. capital — money
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. bound — obliged
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. mark — a trace

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