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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pop — soda
  4. pop — to visit
  5. object — an aim
  6. face — part of the head
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. dip — to sink
  9. face — to point toward
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rash — hasty
  12. cold — not warm
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. ball — a great time
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. rash — a series
  18. stem — to come from
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. object — to protest
  21. object — a thing
  22. ball — a dance
  23. face — to confront
  24. stem — a stem cell

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