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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mug — to rob
  4. present — the time now
  5. hand — in cards
  6. capital — money
  7. pop — music
  8. ball — a great time
  9. present — a gift
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. pop — soda
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bulb — for light
  17. mug — a face
  18. mug — a cup
  19. ball — a dance
  20. pop — to visit
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. hand — help
  24. present — there

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