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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. court — for sport
  7. scale — in music
  8. rest — what's left
  9. stem — to come from
  10. rest — a break
  11. pop — soda
  12. band — a ring
  13. pop — music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. court — of law
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. pop — to visit
  20. band — a music group
  21. rest — what's left
  22. court — of a king
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. squash — the sport

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