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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. bass — low music
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — money
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. bore — to tire
  10. capital — a city
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. pop — to visit
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. prune — to trim
  17. mine — for digging
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wake — a trail
  20. bass — the fish
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. pop — soda
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bore — to drill

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