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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. pop — to visit
  4. fall — to drop
  5. spell — letters
  6. bank — for money
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. spell — magic
  9. bank — for money
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. bank — of a river
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — the season
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. stock — shares
  16. shower — rain
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. stock — goods
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — to wash
  21. sharp — clever
  22. pop — soda
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. spell — a short time

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