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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: pop · stem · chip · sharp · spring · cell · bass · band

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. band — a music group
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bass — low music
  6. spring — a coil
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. pop — music
  10. chip — for betting
  11. band — a ring
  12. chip — to eat
  13. pop — soda
  14. cell — in biology
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. sharp — clever
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — to come from
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — the season
  23. pop — to visit
  24. sharp — exactly

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