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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: stick · rock · key · fall · kid · ball · land · ground

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. ball — a dance
  4. rock — music
  5. ball — a great time
  6. land — to come down
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. rock — a stone
  10. key — the most important part
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ground — the earth
  13. kid — child
  14. land — a country
  15. land — ground
  16. ground — a position
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. fall — to drop
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. key — in music
  21. kid — to tease
  22. fall — to drop
  23. ground — crushed
  24. key — for a lock

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