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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. spell — magic
  3. ground — crushed
  4. spell — letters
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. ground — the earth
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. wake — a trail
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. spell — a short time
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. rash — hasty
  14. march — the month
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. rash — a series
  18. rock — a stone
  19. ground — a position
  20. march — the month
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. march — music
  24. pound — a weight

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