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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: bass · stem · mark · bound · land · perch · ground · net

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. mark — a grade
  3. stem — to come from
  4. ground — a position
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. net — after costs
  8. land — to come down
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bound — certain
  11. bass — the fish
  12. land — ground
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. net — for catching
  15. bass — low music
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bound — obliged
  18. net — in sport
  19. mark — a trace
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — the earth
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. bound — tied together
  24. perch — for a bird

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