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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 116 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: stem · swing · track · game · face · shower · ball · march

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. march — the month
  4. face — part of the head
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. swing — to play on
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. march — the month
  9. stem — to come from
  10. face — to point toward
  11. track — to keep track
  12. swing — music
  13. ball — a dance
  14. swing — in golf
  15. shower — to wash
  16. game — wild animals
  17. ball — a great time
  18. track — a path
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. shower — rain
  22. game — a match
  23. track — a song
  24. face — to confront

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