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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 116 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. tube — a container
  4. ball — a great time
  5. pop — to visit
  6. ground — the earth
  7. pass — a permit
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. ball — a dance
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. pop — music
  12. spring — a coil
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. wound — an injury
  15. ground — crushed
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. ground — a position
  18. spring — of water
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. wound — an injury
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. spring — the season
  24. sharp — clever

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