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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 116 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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. ground — the earth
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. ground — crushed
  6. snap — to click
  7. spring — a coil
  8. pop — soda
  9. spring — the season
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. ground — a position
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. tear — to rip
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. pop — to visit
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — a leader
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. spring — of water

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