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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. pop — to visit
  3. content — happy
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. board — to get on
  7. pop — music
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stem — to come from
  11. board — a committee
  12. content — the amount
  13. prune — to trim
  14. court — for sport
  15. rock — music
  16. prune — to trim
  17. court — of law
  18. pop — soda
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. court — of a king
  22. rock — a stone
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. content — videos and posts

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