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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. pop — music
  3. ball — a dance
  4. cold — not warm
  5. mate — to breed
  6. pop — soda
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — a friend
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. current — happening now
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pop — to visit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. band — a ring
  18. cold — an illness
  19. current — electric
  20. prune — to trim
  21. ball — a great time
  22. current — of water
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. band — a music group

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