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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. key — the most important part
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. cold — an illness
  7. key — in music
  8. bass — the fish
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. rule — a law
  13. cold — not warm
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bass — low music
  20. rule — government
  21. key — for a lock
  22. pop — soda
  23. pop — to visit
  24. cold — the Cold War

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