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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. field — farmland
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. cue — a hint
  8. ball — a dance
  9. roll — a list
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. game — wild animals
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. cue — for pool
  19. roll — a cake
  20. cue — a signal
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. game — a match
  23. ball — a great time
  24. stand — to bear

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