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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. land — a country
  3. scale — in music
  4. rash — hasty
  5. swing — in golf
  6. saw — the tool
  7. current — happening now
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. scale — size or range
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. swing — to play on
  12. saw — the tool
  13. pop — soda
  14. current — of water
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. pop — to visit
  19. current — electric
  20. bat — the animal
  21. rash — a series
  22. land — to come down
  23. swing — music
  24. land — ground

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