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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. saw — the tool
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. pop — to visit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. mate — a partner
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. saw — the tool
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. shower — to wash
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — a country
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. shower — rain
  19. mate — a friend
  20. land — ground
  21. snap — to click
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pop — soda
  24. mate — to breed

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