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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. shower — to wash
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. cue — a signal
  5. cue — for pool
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pop — music
  8. ground — the earth
  9. cue — a hint
  10. track — a song
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. ground — a position
  13. tear — from crying
  14. band — a ring
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. tear — to rip
  17. ground — crushed
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. pop — soda
  20. shower — rain
  21. pop — to visit
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. track — a path
  24. track — to keep track

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