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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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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: pit · last · chip · band · deal · stem · date · ground

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. pit — a hole
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. ground — crushed
  10. chip — to eat
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — to come from
  13. pit — in a race
  14. date — the fruit
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. last — finally
  17. ground — the earth
  18. band — a ring
  19. ground — a position
  20. last — final
  21. last — to go on
  22. chip — for betting
  23. deal — to handle
  24. band — a music group

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