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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. fall — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bore — to drill
  6. file — a tool
  7. swing — music
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. file — a line of people
  11. degree — an amount
  12. file — a document
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — soda
  15. rock — a stone
  16. swing — to play on
  17. bore — to tire
  18. degree — from a university
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. degree — temperature
  22. fall — to drop
  23. swing — in golf
  24. pop — music

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