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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. pop — to visit
  3. spell — magic
  4. chest — of your body
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bass — the fish
  7. land — a country
  8. spell — a short time
  9. chest — a box
  10. land — ground
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bat — the animal
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. pop — soda
  17. land — to come down
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bass — low music
  20. pit — in a race
  21. spell — letters
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. pit — a hole
  24. bat — for baseball

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