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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. bass — low music
  3. season — of the year
  4. spring — a coil
  5. perch — the fish
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. pop — to visit
  9. spring — the season
  10. pop — soda
  11. bass — the fish
  12. roll — a list
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. roll — a cake
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. season — in sport
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bound — certain
  19. track — to keep track
  20. spring — of water
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bound — obliged
  23. track — a path
  24. track — a song

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