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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. rock — music
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. pop — music
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. bat — the animal
  9. spell — letters
  10. march — the month
  11. wind — moving air
  12. spell — a short time
  13. march — the month
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pop — soda
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. pop — to visit
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. spell — magic
  21. plane — a tool
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. march — music

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