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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pop — music
  4. march — music
  5. date — the fruit
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. march — the month
  11. snap — to click
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pop — soda
  14. can — to be able to
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. roll — a list
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. can — a tin
  19. march — the month
  20. can — a tin
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — for digging
  24. date — on the calendar

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