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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. branch — a division
  3. pop — music
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bulb — for light
  6. pop — to visit
  7. kid — to tease
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. ground — the earth
  11. pop — soda
  12. kid — child
  13. wound — an injury
  14. scale — size or range
  15. wound — an injury
  16. ground — a position
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. staff — a stick
  19. staff — employees
  20. scale — in music
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. staff — employees

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