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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. pop — music
  3. pop — soda
  4. mine — for digging
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. mate — a friend
  9. game — wild animals
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to click
  15. game — a match
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mate — a partner

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