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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. kid — to tease
  3. swing — music
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. swing — to play on
  6. land — a country
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. pop — soda
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — ground
  13. swing — in golf
  14. pop — to visit
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. kid — child
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — the animal

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