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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. vault — a safe
  4. pop — to visit
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. dip — to sink
  7. scale — size or range
  8. drill — a practice
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. drill — the tool
  12. field — farmland
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. tear — to rip
  15. drill — army training
  16. tear — from crying
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — for sport
  20. scale — in music
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. pop — soda
  23. tear — from crying
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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