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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  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. rock — music
  2. last — to go on
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. pop — to visit
  5. band — a ring
  6. rock — a stone
  7. pop — soda
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. last — final
  11. stem — to come from
  12. bulb — for light
  13. land — ground
  14. land — to come down
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. land — a country
  19. pop — music
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. last — finally
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. bulb — for light
  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