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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. pop — music
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — a position
  5. game — a match
  6. file — a tool
  7. pop — soda
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. file — a line of people
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. mark — a grade
  17. file — a document
  18. game — wild animals
  19. pop — to visit
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. ground — the earth
  22. branch — a division
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. mark — a trace

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