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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. content — happy
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. file — a line of people
  5. file — a tool
  6. game — a match
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. wind — moving air
  10. game — wild animals
  11. wind — moving air
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. file — a document
  14. pop — soda
  15. date — the fruit
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — the amount
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. roll — a list
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. roll — a cake
  23. pop — to visit
  24. leaves — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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