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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: land · pop · mate · ball · fan · racket · file · key

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. pop — to visit
  3. key — for a lock
  4. mate — a friend
  5. file — a document
  6. ball — a dance
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. land — to come down
  9. key — in music
  10. mate — a partner
  11. land — ground
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. ball — a great time
  14. file — a line of people
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. key — the most important part
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. file — a tool
  20. land — a country
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. pop — soda
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. mate — to breed

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