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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 120 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. mug — to rob
  3. pop — music
  4. mug — a cup
  5. track — a song
  6. spring — the season
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. spring — of water
  10. wound — an injury
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. pop — to visit
  16. wound — an injury
  17. ground — the earth
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. track — a path
  20. pop — soda
  21. mug — a face
  22. ground — a position
  23. spring — a coil
  24. track — to keep track

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