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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: stem · net · bound · saw · band · date · wake · mine

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. net — after costs
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bound — obliged
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. mine — for digging
  12. wake — a trail
  13. bound — tied together
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. net — for catching
  16. saw — the tool
  17. band — a music group
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. date — the fruit
  21. bound — certain
  22. saw — the tool
  23. stem — to come from
  24. band — a ring

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