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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 120 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. ground — crushed
  3. swing — music
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. last — to go on
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. cap — a lid
  10. last — finally
  11. last — final
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cap — of ice
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. ground — a position
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — to visit
  22. swing — in golf
  23. ground — the earth
  24. swing — to play on

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