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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 116 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: stem · chip · kid · land · bass · rule · wax · band

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. chip — to eat
  3. chip — for betting
  4. band — a ring
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — ground
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. stem — to come from
  10. land — a country
  11. rule — government
  12. wax — to grow
  13. kid — child
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bass — low music
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. kid — to tease
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. rule — a law
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. band — a music group
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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