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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. pop — music
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. scale — in music
  5. cue — a signal
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. snap — to click
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. cue — a hint
  11. cue — for pool
  12. capital — a city
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. spring — a coil
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — the fruit
  17. scale — size or range
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. pop — to visit
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. pop — soda
  23. capital — money
  24. spring — the season

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