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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. rule — a law
  3. pop — music
  4. bass — low music
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. pop — to visit
  7. spell — letters
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. bass — the fish
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. ball — a great time
  12. spell — magic
  13. pop — soda
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. ball — a dance
  17. shower — to wash
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. prune — to trim
  20. rule — government
  21. spell — a short time
  22. prune — to trim
  23. shower — rain
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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