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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. band — a ring
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pop — to visit
  8. wind — moving air
  9. key — in music
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. squash — to crush
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. band — a music group
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. squash — the sport
  19. key — for a lock
  20. key — the most important part
  21. scale — in music
  22. pop — music
  23. scale — size or range
  24. band — a rubber band

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