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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. shower — to wash
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — soda
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. stem — to come from
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. march — the month
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bulb — for light
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. row — to paddle
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. shower — rain
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. march — music
  21. bulb — for light
  22. march — the month
  23. row — a line
  24. row — a quarrel

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