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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. prune — to trim
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. last — final
  6. last — to go on
  7. pop — to visit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. pop — soda
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. sharp — clever
  19. bass — low music
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. bass — the fish
  24. last — finally

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