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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — in cards
  4. pop — soda
  5. fine — all right
  6. pop — to visit
  7. fine — high quality
  8. cap — a hat
  9. scale — in music
  10. cap — a lid
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. prune — to trim
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. track — a path
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. track — a song
  19. cap — of ice
  20. scale — size or range
  21. prune — to trim
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. sharp — clever
  24. track — to keep track

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