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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 · pop · race · band · roll · root · face · coach

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. pop — soda
  3. face — part of the head
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. pop — music
  6. band — a music group
  7. race — a contest
  8. face — to confront
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. pop — to visit
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. ball — a dance
  13. band — a ring
  14. root — of a word
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. roll — a list
  17. face — to point toward
  18. ball — a great time
  19. root — the cause
  20. race — the arms race
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. root — of a plant
  23. race — humankind
  24. band — a rubber band

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