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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. band — a ring
  3. shower — rain
  4. land — ground
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. pop — music
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. content — the amount
  9. mug — a face
  10. mug — to rob
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. content — happy
  13. band — a music group
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. shower — to wash
  16. land — a country
  17. pop — to visit
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. mug — a cup
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. land — to come down
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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