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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 · land · band · degree · pop · spell · mate · bank

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — a short time
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. degree — temperature
  6. mate — to breed
  7. bank — for money
  8. land — ground
  9. band — a music group
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. band — a ring
  12. bank — for money
  13. land — to come down
  14. pop — to visit
  15. spell — letters
  16. pop — music
  17. mate — a friend
  18. stem — to come from
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bank — of a river
  21. degree — an amount
  22. pop — soda
  23. mate — a partner
  24. stem — a stem cell

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