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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. swing — music
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. court — of a king
  8. pop — to visit
  9. mark — a trace
  10. mark — a grade
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — a city
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. track — a song
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. swing — to play on
  17. wax — to grow
  18. track — a path
  19. pop — soda
  20. swing — in golf
  21. court — of law
  22. court — for sport
  23. capital — money
  24. track — to keep track

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