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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. chest — of your body
  3. foot — a measure
  4. bark — to shout
  5. spring — of water
  6. chest — of your body
  7. swing — to play on
  8. swing — in golf
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. mug — a face
  11. land — ground
  12. spring — the season
  13. pop — to visit
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. mug — to rob
  16. land — to come down
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. swing — music
  19. land — a country
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. mug — a cup
  22. pop — soda
  23. spring — a coil
  24. chest — a box

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