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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. ball — a dance
  5. land — to come down
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — a coil
  8. shower — rain
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. spring — of water
  11. shower — to wash
  12. lean — thin
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. land — a country
  15. land — ground
  16. pop — to visit
  17. ball — a great time
  18. ground — the earth
  19. pound — a weight
  20. ground — a position
  21. pop — soda
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. ground — crushed
  24. lean — to bend

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