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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. roll — a list
  3. march — music
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. court — of a king
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. land — ground
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. march — the month
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. stem — to come from
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. land — to come down
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. roll — a cake
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. land — a country
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. march — the month
  22. court — for sport
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. court — of law

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