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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. can — to be able to
  6. last — finally
  7. last — final
  8. bat — the animal
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. can — a tin
  12. swing — to play on
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. last — to go on
  15. swing — in golf
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. pop — to visit
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. swing — music
  21. cold — an illness
  22. pop — soda
  23. can — a tin
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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