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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. mate — a partner
  4. pop — to visit
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — wild animals
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. can — to be able to
  10. can — a tin
  11. row — a line
  12. stand — to bear
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. clip — to cut
  16. pop — soda
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. mate — to breed
  20. clip — for paper
  21. row — to paddle
  22. clip — a video
  23. mate — a friend
  24. can — a tin

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