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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: ball · bat · coach · wake · mug · roll · fall · band

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. mug — a cup
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. mug — to rob
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — a trail
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. ball — a great time
  11. roll — a list
  12. fall — to drop
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. mug — a face
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. fall — the season
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. fall — to drop
  22. band — a music group
  23. bat — the animal
  24. ball — a dance

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