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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: toast · band · bat · pound · present · stem · craft · ground

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. craft — boats
  3. stem — to come from
  4. bat — the animal
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. present — a gift
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. ground — a position
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. band — a ring
  14. craft — a skill
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. ground — the earth
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. ground — crushed
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. present — the time now
  22. toast — bread
  23. band — a music group
  24. present — there

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