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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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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. ball — a dance
  7. club — a group
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. race — a contest
  10. net — in sport
  11. race — humankind
  12. roll — a list
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. net — after costs
  16. stem — to come from
  17. net — for catching
  18. club — for golf
  19. race — the arms race
  20. roll — a cake
  21. ball — a great time
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. club — for dancing

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