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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 116 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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. rule — a law
  3. key — in music
  4. lean — to bend
  5. key — for a lock
  6. lean — thin
  7. fall — the season
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. fall — to drop
  11. pop — soda
  12. court — for sport
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. court — of a king
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. kid — to tease
  17. court — of law
  18. kid — child
  19. rule — government
  20. key — the most important part
  21. fall — to drop
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. pop — to visit
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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