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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: game · bass · ground · stem · band · bear · mouse · rule

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bass — low music
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. ground — the earth
  10. game — a match
  11. bass — the fish
  12. band — a ring
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. rule — a law
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. stem — to come from
  19. ground — a position
  20. band — a music group
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. rule — government
  24. bass — the instrument

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