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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 124 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. pop — to visit
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — in a road
  5. ball — a dance
  6. rush — hurry
  7. net — in sport
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. net — for catching
  10. pop — soda
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. swing — music
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. ball — a great time
  16. bulb — for light
  17. pop — music
  18. swing — in golf
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. bulb — for light
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. net — after costs
  24. swing — to play on

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