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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. root — the cause
  4. wake — a trail
  5. bat — the animal
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. cell — a phone
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. pop — soda
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pop — to visit
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — of a plant
  17. wound — an injury
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bat — for baseball

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