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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. band — a ring
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. court — of law
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. band — a music group
  9. stem — to come from
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. court — for sport
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. file — a tool
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. ball — a great time
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a document
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. ball — a dance
  23. court — of a king
  24. stem — a stem cell

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