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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: band · file · land · spell · key · stock · stem · pass

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. spell — letters
  3. key — for a lock
  4. band — a ring
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. land — ground
  8. band — a music group
  9. file — a document
  10. stock — shares
  11. stem — to come from
  12. key — the most important part
  13. spell — magic
  14. pass — a permit
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stock — goods
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. key — in music
  19. file — a line of people
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. land — a country
  22. file — a tool
  23. spell — a short time
  24. pass — to spend time

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