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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. pop — soda
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to click
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pop — to visit
  13. ball — a dance
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. shower — to wash
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain
  19. ball — a great time
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. wound — an injury
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bowl — a football final

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