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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. pound — a weight
  6. band — a music group
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. clip — for paper
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. stem — to come from
  11. band — a ring
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. vault — a safe
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — a video
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bowl — a dish

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