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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. present — there
  3. spell — letters
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. date — the fruit
  8. chest — of your body
  9. game — a match
  10. pop — soda
  11. pop — to visit
  12. game — wild animals
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. present — a gift
  15. present — the time now
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. spell — a short time
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. spell — magic
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. chest — a box
  24. date — on the calendar

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