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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: squash · ground · band · pitch · date · stem · scale · bark

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. band — a music group
  7. stem — to come from
  8. squash — the sport
  9. scale — in music
  10. ground — a position
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. pitch — completely
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. ground — the earth
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. squash — to crush
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. bark — to shout
  20. ground — crushed
  21. date — the fruit
  22. band — a ring
  23. scale — size or range
  24. pitch — a sports field

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