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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pop — music
  3. mine — for digging
  4. scale — size or range
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. squash — to crush
  7. mate — a partner
  8. shower — rain
  9. object — to protest
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — the sport
  14. scale — in music
  15. mate — a friend
  16. object — a thing
  17. shower — to wash
  18. object — an aim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. pop — to visit
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. prune — to trim

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