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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. land — to come down
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. wax — to grow
  12. roll — a cake
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. land — ground
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. mate — a partner
  18. mate — a friend
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. land — a country
  21. roll — a list
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mate — to breed
  24. pop — soda

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