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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. pop — soda
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. kid — child
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. clip — a video
  9. rock — music
  10. clip — to cut
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. capital — money
  18. rock — a stone
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. capital — a city
  21. sharp — clever
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. pop — to visit
  24. clip — for paper

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