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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. net — after costs
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a path
  5. pop — music
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. spring — the season
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. pop — to visit
  13. capital — money
  14. net — for catching
  15. spring — a coil
  16. capital — a city
  17. spring — of water
  18. band — a ring
  19. track — a song
  20. snap — to click
  21. band — a music group
  22. net — in sport
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. pop — soda

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