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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 · band · bat · key · stem · season · chest · staff

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. chest — of your body
  3. season — in sport
  4. staff — employees
  5. ball — a dance
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. chest — a box
  10. key — in music
  11. band — a ring
  12. stem — to come from
  13. ball — a great time
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. staff — employees
  16. key — for a lock
  17. chest — of your body
  18. band — a music group
  19. key — the most important part
  20. staff — a stick
  21. season — of the year
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. bat — in an idiom

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