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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: bark · net · staff · stem · cap · band · spring · ground

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  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. staff — employees
  2. band — a music group
  3. net — in sport
  4. spring — a coil
  5. net — for catching
  6. cap — a lid
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. spring — the season
  10. staff — employees
  11. spring — of water
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. ground — crushed
  17. net — after costs
  18. staff — a stick
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ground — a position
  21. cap — of ice
  22. stem — to come from
  23. cap — a hat
  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