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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. pop — music
  3. spring — the season
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. bore — to tire
  6. degree — temperature
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. spring — of water
  9. rock — a stone
  10. pop — soda
  11. bore — to drill
  12. pass — a permit
  13. shower — to wash
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a leader
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. shower — rain
  20. degree — from a university
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. pop — to visit
  23. spring — a coil
  24. degree — an amount

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