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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 who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. fall — to drop
  3. track — to keep track
  4. fall — to drop
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. ball — a great time
  8. band — a ring
  9. game — wild animals
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. fall — the season
  12. cell — in biology
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — to come from
  17. game — a match
  18. cell — a phone
  19. band — a music group
  20. track — a song
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. track — a path
  24. racket — a loud noise

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