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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. shower — to wash
  3. sharp — clever
  4. pop — music
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. pop — to visit
  7. spring — the season
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mark — a trace
  13. mark — a grade
  14. spring — of water
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. shower — rain
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. spring — a coil
  21. land — to come down
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. pop — soda
  24. mouse — for a computer

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