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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. object — a thing
  6. snap — to click
  7. field — for sport
  8. pop — soda
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. rush — hurry
  11. pit — in a race
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. field — farmland
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. object — to protest
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. field — a subject
  18. scale — size or range
  19. object — an aim
  20. pit — a hole
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. pop — to visit
  24. scale — in 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