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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. pop — music
  4. capital — a city
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. craft — a skill
  7. bass — low music
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a music group
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. wake — a trail
  12. pound — a weight
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. foot — a measure
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. pop — soda
  20. bass — the fish
  21. craft — boats
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. capital — money
  24. pound — to hit hard

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