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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. pop — soda
  3. content — happy
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — a container
  6. spell — a short time
  7. shower — to wash
  8. band — a ring
  9. pop — music
  10. spell — magic
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. spell — letters
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. content — the amount
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. band — a music group
  17. ground — a position
  18. ground — crushed
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. board — a committee
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. board — to get on
  23. ground — the earth
  24. shower — rain

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