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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 felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. land — to come down
  4. hand — help
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. mug — a cup
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. land — ground
  10. roll — a cake
  11. mug — a face
  12. land — a country
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — size or range
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. pop — to visit
  17. pop — soda
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. roll — a list
  20. hand — in cards
  21. chest — a box
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. mug — to rob
  24. chest — of your body

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