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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. pop — music
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. chest — a box
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stem — to come from
  8. net — after costs
  9. stand — to bear
  10. ball — a dance
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — soda
  15. net — in sport
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. net — for catching

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