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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: foot · ball · pop · march · wake · cell · object · kid

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. pop — music
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. ball — a dance
  11. pop — to visit
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. object — to protest
  14. march — the month
  15. kid — child
  16. ball — a great time
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. pop — soda
  19. foot — a measure
  20. object — an aim
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. kid — to tease
  24. cell — in biology

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