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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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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. net — in sport
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — money
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. chest — a box
  8. squash — the sport
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pop — to visit
  11. game — wild animals
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bore — to tire
  14. chest — of your body
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. craft — a skill
  17. bore — to drill
  18. game — a match
  19. craft — boats
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. pop — soda
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — for catching

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