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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. tear — from crying
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. band — a music group
  6. pop — soda
  7. tear — to rip
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. fine — all right
  10. spell — magic
  11. pop — to visit
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. stock — goods
  19. spell — letters
  20. band — a ring
  21. tear — from crying
  22. fine — high quality
  23. spell — a short time
  24. stock — shares

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