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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. pop — music
  4. land — a country
  5. game — a match
  6. land — ground
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. game — wild animals
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. season — in sport
  13. season — of the year
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. shower — rain
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. land — to come down
  21. row — a line
  22. shower — to wash
  23. row — to paddle
  24. pop — to visit

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