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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. court — of law
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. track — a path
  6. swing — to play on
  7. stem — to come from
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. file — a line of people
  10. court — of a king
  11. swing — in golf
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. court — for sport
  14. vault — a safe
  15. file — a document
  16. content — the amount
  17. track — a song
  18. content — happy
  19. band — a ring
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. swing — music
  22. file — a tool
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. track — to keep track

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