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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. pop — music
  3. fall — the season
  4. band — a ring
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. mine — for digging
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. fall — to drop
  9. pop — soda
  10. fall — to drop
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. band — a music group
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. rock — music
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pound — a weight
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — clever
  21. rock — a stone
  22. pop — to visit
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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