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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. march — the month
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — a tin
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pop — music
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. content — happy
  13. rock — a stone
  14. march — the month
  15. pop — to visit
  16. march — music
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. can — to be able to
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. kid — to tease
  21. cold — an illness
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. kid — child
  24. pop — soda

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