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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. pop — to visit
  5. row — a line
  6. ball — a great time
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. row — to paddle
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pop — music
  15. pop — soda
  16. ball — a dance
  17. vault — a safe
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. rock — a stone
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. ball — a round shape

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