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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. spring — a coil
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. pop — soda
  6. object — to protest
  7. last — to go on
  8. ground — crushed
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. last — finally
  11. drill — the tool
  12. ground — a position
  13. object — an aim
  14. drill — a practice
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. last — final
  17. ground — the earth
  18. drill — army training
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — a phone
  21. object — a thing
  22. pop — to visit
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — the season

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