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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. mine — for digging
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. hand — in cards
  9. ball — a dance
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. root — of a word
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. march — the month
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — to come from
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. root — the cause
  24. root — of a plant

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