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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 116 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: land · fine · pass · stem · band · racket · chair · cap

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. band — a ring
  4. land — ground
  5. band — a music group
  6. chair — a leader
  7. fine — all right
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. fine — high quality
  11. cap — a hat
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — to come from
  16. pass — a permit
  17. cap — a lid
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. cap — of ice
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. land — to come down

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