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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 116 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. pop — to visit
  3. mug — to rob
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. cue — a signal
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — the tool
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. pop — soda
  12. cue — a hint
  13. mug — a face
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. cue — for pool
  17. mug — a cup
  18. game — wild animals
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — for sport
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. drill — army training
  23. game — a match
  24. field — a subject

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