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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pop — music
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. pop — soda
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. spell — magic
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. prune — to trim
  14. spell — letters
  15. chest — a box
  16. wake — a trail
  17. spell — a short time
  18. chest — of your body
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — before a funeral

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