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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. present — the time now
  3. pop — music
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. land — ground
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. land — to come down
  11. present — a gift
  12. last — to go on
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. pop — to visit
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. land — a country
  18. last — final
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. pop — soda
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. last — finally

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