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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. net — for catching
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. squash — the sport
  5. rash — a series
  6. land — a country
  7. land — ground
  8. land — to come down
  9. rash — hasty
  10. pop — to visit
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — shares
  16. net — after costs
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. pop — soda
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. stock — goods
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. squash — to crush
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. net — in sport

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