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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. pop — to visit
  5. staff — employees
  6. can — a tin
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. cold — not warm
  9. staff — a stick
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. cold — an illness
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a ring
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. can — a tin
  18. staff — employees
  19. stem — to come from
  20. can — to be able to
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. pop — soda
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. racket — for tennis

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