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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. pop — to visit
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. track — a path
  6. swing — to play on
  7. band — a music group
  8. rock — music
  9. rush — hurry
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a ring
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. rock — a stone
  15. track — to keep track
  16. dip — to sink
  17. swing — in golf
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. pop — soda
  20. track — a song
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. pop — music
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. swing — 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