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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. stand — to bear
  3. wake — a trail
  4. pop — music
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. row — a line
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. sharp — clever
  9. land — ground
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. land — a country
  14. spring — of water
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. pop — soda
  18. spring — the season
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. land — to come down
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. row — to paddle
  24. spring — a coil

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