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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. mug — to rob
  3. pop — music
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. pop — to visit
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. pop — soda
  10. pass — a permit
  11. swing — in golf
  12. mug — a face
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a music group
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mug — a cup
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. mine — for digging
  20. spring — a coil
  21. swing — music
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — the season
  24. band — a rubber band

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