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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a ring
  4. pop — to visit
  5. net — after costs
  6. pop — soda
  7. spell — letters
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. net — for catching
  10. face — to point toward
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. spell — magic
  14. spring — a coil
  15. stem — to come from
  16. spring — of water
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. wound — an injury
  19. face — part of the head
  20. net — in sport
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. spring — the season
  23. spell — a short time
  24. face — to confront

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