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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. mark — a grade
  3. land — a country
  4. pop — to visit
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. pop — soda
  7. kid — to tease
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mark — a trace
  10. land — ground
  11. kid — child
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. rash — hasty
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. lie — to recline
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — the animal
  21. land — to come down
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. rash — a series

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