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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. last — final
  3. club — a group
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. last — finally
  6. track — a song
  7. kick — in football
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. spell — magic
  10. track — a path
  11. pop — music
  12. current — of water
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. spell — a short time
  15. current — electric
  16. spell — letters
  17. club — for golf
  18. pop — soda
  19. last — to go on
  20. track — to keep track
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — rain
  23. current — happening now
  24. club — for dancing

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