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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. pop — music
  4. cold — not warm
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. pop — to visit
  7. saw — the tool
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. ball — a great time
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. cold — an illness
  16. ball — a dance
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. saw — the tool
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. pound — a weight
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. branch — a division

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