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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: band · pass · mine · stem · field · net · bound · pit

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. bound — obliged
  3. pass — a permit
  4. mine — for digging
  5. stem — to come from
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. field — for sport
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. field — a subject
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. bound — certain
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. net — for catching
  15. pit — in a race
  16. net — in sport
  17. band — a music group
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. field — farmland
  20. net — after costs
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. band — a ring
  23. bound — tied together
  24. pass — to spend time

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