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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. saw — the tool
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. game — wild animals
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rock — a stone
  7. pop — music
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. lie — to recline
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. pop — soda
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. game — a match
  20. pop — to visit
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. bark — to shout
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. game — a kind of play

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