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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. prune — to trim
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. chest — of your body
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cell — a phone
  9. fine — all right
  10. chest — of your body
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. band — a music group
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. chest — a box
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. fine — high quality
  18. band — a ring
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. plane — a tool
  22. prune — to trim
  23. ball — a great time
  24. plane — in geometry

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