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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: mug · roll · ball · kid · land · stem · rock · date

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. kid — child
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ball — a great time
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. rock — a stone
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. mug — a cup
  9. roll — a list
  10. land — to come down
  11. kid — to tease
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. mug — to rob
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. roll — a cake
  16. date — the fruit
  17. mug — a face
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — to come from
  20. rock — music
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. land — ground
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. ball — a round shape

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