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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. stock — goods
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. scale — in music
  7. swing — in golf
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. lie — to recline
  10. swing — to play on
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. pop — to visit
  13. march — the month
  14. shower — rain
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. pop — soda
  17. stock — shares
  18. march — the month
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. shower — to wash
  21. swing — music
  22. scale — size or range
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. march — music

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