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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. present — the time now
  3. band — a music group
  4. present — a gift
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. wind — moving air
  7. present — there
  8. stem — to come from
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. ball — a great time
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. wind — moving air
  15. shower — rain
  16. cap — a lid
  17. band — a ring
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. cap — of ice
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. cap — a hat
  22. shower — to wash
  23. ball — a dance
  24. stem — of a plant

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