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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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. band — a rubber band
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. charge — in control
  7. band — a music group
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. row — a line
  11. clip — a video
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. row — to paddle
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. charge — electricity
  17. clip — for paper
  18. pop — soda
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. charge — a price
  21. band — a ring
  22. deal — to handle
  23. clip — to cut
  24. fan — to cool the air

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