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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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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: race · ball · roll · swing · leaves · row · net · cell

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. roll — a list
  3. race — humankind
  4. net — after costs
  5. race — the arms race
  6. ball — a great time
  7. net — in sport
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. cell — a phone
  10. net — for catching
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. row — to paddle
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. swing — in golf
  15. ball — a dance
  16. swing — to play on
  17. row — a line
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. swing — music
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. cell — in biology
  23. roll — a cake
  24. race — a contest

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