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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 116 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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. band — a ring
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. march — the month
  7. game — a match
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cap — a lid
  10. game — wild animals
  11. pound — a weight
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. march — the month
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. ball — a great time
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. march — music
  20. cap — of ice
  21. band — a music group
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. stem — to come from
  24. ball — a round shape

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