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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. chip — to eat
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. toast — bread
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. pop — to visit
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. band — a ring
  14. season — in sport
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. chip — for betting
  17. pop — soda
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. season — of the year
  20. game — a match
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. band — a music group

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