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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. ball — a dance
  3. rock — music
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. fall — to drop
  8. club — for golf
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — for catching
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. club — for dancing
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. rock — a stone
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bat — the animal
  18. net — after costs
  19. ball — a great time
  20. stem — to come from
  21. hand — help
  22. club — a group
  23. fall — to drop
  24. stem — of a plant

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