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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 120 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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mug — a face
  3. mug — to rob
  4. band — a music group
  5. ball — a dance
  6. court — of law
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. court — of a king
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. stem — to come from
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. band — a ring
  18. ball — a great time
  19. court — for sport
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bass — low music
  23. mug — a cup
  24. bat — for baseball

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