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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. pop — soda
  4. pop — to visit
  5. ground — the earth
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. shower — rain
  9. rash — a series
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. ground — a position
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pit — a hole
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. shower — to wash
  20. ground — crushed
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. rash — hasty
  24. fan — a supporter

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