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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · prune · club · ball · race · spring

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. race — a contest
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cell — a phone
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — for golf
  9. prune — to trim
  10. spring — the season
  11. ball — a great time
  12. race — the arms race
  13. prune — to trim
  14. spring — of water
  15. club — a group
  16. race — humankind
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. spring — a coil

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