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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. spring — the season
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. pop — music
  6. spring — a coil
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. rock — music
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. degree — from a university
  11. hand — help
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. hand — in cards
  14. pop — soda
  15. spring — of water
  16. ball — a dance
  17. rock — a stone
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. perch — the fish
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. degree — temperature
  23. ball — a great time
  24. degree — an amount

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