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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 · march · stem · bat · prune · fan · key · season

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. march — music
  3. band — a ring
  4. season — of the year
  5. bat — the animal
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. march — the month
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. march — the month
  15. band — a music group
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. key — for a lock
  18. stem — to come from
  19. key — the most important part
  20. season — in sport
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. prune — to trim
  23. key — in music
  24. season — to add flavour

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