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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. rock — music
  3. spring — the season
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. rock — a stone
  6. fall — to drop
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. spell — magic
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. pop — soda
  11. spring — of water
  12. fall — to drop
  13. cell — a phone
  14. pop — music
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. cell — in biology
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — a short time
  21. prune — to trim
  22. fall — the season
  23. prune — to trim
  24. spring — a coil

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