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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pop — to visit
  5. cell — a phone
  6. season — of the year
  7. cell — in biology
  8. present — there
  9. present — the time now
  10. mug — to rob
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. season — in sport
  14. pop — soda
  15. rock — music
  16. present — a gift
  17. mug — a cup
  18. mug — a face
  19. rock — a stone
  20. pop — music
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — rain
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. shower — to wash

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