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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. present — a gift
  3. present — the time now
  4. pop — music
  5. spell — magic
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. bulb — for light
  8. band — a ring
  9. present — there
  10. scale — size or range
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. cold — not warm
  14. spell — letters
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. bulb — for light
  17. spell — a short time
  18. pop — to visit
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pop — soda
  21. band — a music group
  22. scale — in music
  23. pitch — completely
  24. bulb — of a plant

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