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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. pop — music
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. capital — money
  6. pop — to visit
  7. file — a document
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. pop — soda
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. board — a committee
  12. prune — to trim
  13. board — to get on
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. rash — a series
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. mark — a grade
  19. file — a line of people
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. mark — a trace
  22. prune — to trim
  23. file — a tool
  24. capital — a city

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