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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. last — final
  3. season — in sport
  4. track — a path
  5. last — to go on
  6. pop — soda
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. track — a song
  9. pop — to visit
  10. fall — to drop
  11. scale — size or range
  12. scale — in music
  13. fall — to drop
  14. kid — to tease
  15. board — a committee
  16. kid — child
  17. fall — the season
  18. board — to get on
  19. track — to keep track
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. last — finally
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. season — of the year

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