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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 124 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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  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. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. prune — to trim
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mate — a friend
  11. pop — soda
  12. bat — the animal
  13. mate — a partner
  14. shower — rain
  15. land — a country
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. pop — to visit
  19. mine — for digging
  20. land — to come down
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. land — ground
  23. mate — to breed
  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