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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pop — music
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. rush — hurry
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. scale — in music
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. fall — to drop
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. fork — in a road
  14. band — a music group
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. band — a ring
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. pop — soda
  21. scale — size or range
  22. pop — to visit
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. fall — the season

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