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

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. pop — to visit
  3. spring — the season
  4. band — a music group
  5. net — for catching
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — of water
  8. band — a ring
  9. pop — soda
  10. face — part of the head
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. pop — music
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — size or range
  15. face — to point toward
  16. face — to confront
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. net — after costs

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