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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. rock — music
  3. pop — soda
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. pop — to visit
  6. court — of a king
  7. fine — all right
  8. ground — crushed
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — rain
  12. ground — a position
  13. swing — to play on
  14. court — of law
  15. rock — a stone
  16. court — for sport
  17. mug — a face
  18. swing — in golf
  19. pop — music
  20. swing — music
  21. mug — a cup
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. mug — to rob
  24. ground — the earth

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