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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. roll — a list
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. pop — to visit
  5. rush — hurry
  6. drill — the tool
  7. pop — soda
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a friend
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. drill — a practice
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. capital — money
  15. mine — for digging
  16. roll — a cake
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — a city
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. mate — a partner
  23. drill — army training
  24. wax — to grow

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