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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. pop — to visit
  5. last — final
  6. pass — a permit
  7. last — to go on
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — temperature
  10. ball — a dance
  11. capital — money
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. fork — in a road
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. pop — soda
  17. last — finally
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. degree — from a university
  21. capital — a city
  22. wake — a trail
  23. ball — a great time
  24. fork — to eat with

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