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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · club · bat · band · plane · patient · chair · land

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  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. club — for golf
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. land — ground
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. stem — to come from
  7. band — a ring
  8. land — to come down
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. land — a country
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. plane — a tool
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. club — for dancing
  17. club — a group
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. chair — a leader
  20. bat — the animal
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. band — a rubber band
  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