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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 124 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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. game — a match
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rush — hurry
  5. roll — a list
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. pop — to visit
  8. staff — employees
  9. game — wild animals
  10. staff — employees
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. cell — a phone
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. roll — a cake
  15. dip — to sink
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. cell — in biology
  19. chest — of your body
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. staff — a stick
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. pop — soda
  24. chest — a box

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