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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. chip — for betting
  3. bark — to shout
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spell — letters
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. spring — the season
  8. cell — a phone
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. pop — to visit
  11. mine — for digging
  12. cell — in biology
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. spell — magic
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. spell — a short time
  17. chip — to eat
  18. spring — of water
  19. pop — soda
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. lash — to lash out

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