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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. tube — a container
  3. band — a ring
  4. ground — crushed
  5. pop — music
  6. ground — a position
  7. ball — a dance
  8. tube — the underground
  9. mate — a partner
  10. mate — to breed
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. pop — to visit
  13. hand — help
  14. band — a music group
  15. hand — in cards
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. spell — magic
  18. mate — a friend
  19. ground — the earth
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. spell — a short time
  22. pop — soda
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. spell — letters

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