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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. court — of law
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wake — a trail
  5. row — to paddle
  6. pop — music
  7. capital — money
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. court — for sport
  10. capital — a city
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. pop — to visit
  13. rock — a stone
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. court — of a king
  18. chair — a leader
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. prune — to trim
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — a line
  24. pop — soda

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