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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. ball — a dance
  4. land — a country
  5. bat — the animal
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. land — ground
  9. band — a music group
  10. wake — a trail
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. row — to paddle
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. spring — of water
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. spring — a coil
  19. land — to come down
  20. pass — a permit
  21. band — a ring
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. row — a line
  24. spring — the season

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