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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 120 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. pop — music
  3. rash — hasty
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. rash — a series
  10. mug — a cup
  11. bound — obliged
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. bound — tied together
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bound — certain
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. kid — child
  22. mug — a face
  23. pop — soda
  24. mug — to rob

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