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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. drill — army training
  3. pop — music
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. net — in sport
  6. mug — a face
  7. plane — a tool
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. pop — soda
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mug — a cup
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. capital — money
  18. drill — a practice
  19. net — after costs
  20. drill — the tool
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. mine — for digging
  23. capital — a city
  24. net — for catching

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