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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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. club — for dancing
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. degree — an amount
  6. hand — in cards
  7. band — a music group
  8. ball — a great time
  9. club — for golf
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. hand — help
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. club — a group
  16. band — a ring
  17. roll — a cake
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — from a university
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. prune — to trim
  22. ball — a dance
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — the fruit

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