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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. roll — a cake
  4. court — of law
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. band — a music group
  10. stem — to come from
  11. bat — the animal
  12. roll — a list
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. hand — help
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — for sport
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. band — a ring

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