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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pop — soda
  3. club — for dancing
  4. pop — music
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. rest — what's left
  8. club — for golf
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. club — a group
  12. ground — the earth
  13. rest — a break
  14. chest — a box
  15. pop — to visit
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. chest — of your body
  19. ground — a position
  20. ground — crushed
  21. chest — of your body
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. rest — what's left

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