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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. cell — a phone
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bank — of a river
  8. lean — thin
  9. bank — for money
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. pop — to visit
  13. stock — shares
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. stock — goods
  18. lean — to bend
  19. cell — in biology
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bank — for money
  22. pop — soda
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. bat — the animal

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