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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. prune — to trim
  3. band — a music group
  4. pop — soda
  5. rock — a stone
  6. capital — money
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — the earth
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. prune — to trim
  12. band — a ring
  13. pop — music
  14. pop — to visit
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. rock — music
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. ground — a position
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — to tease

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