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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. band — a ring
  4. ground — a position
  5. prune — to trim
  6. ground — the earth
  7. kid — to tease
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. pop — to visit
  10. ground — crushed
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. prune — to trim
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — child
  15. club — a group
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. club — for dancing
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. club — for golf
  23. band — a music group
  24. pop — soda

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