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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. cell — a phone
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. roll — a cake
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. pop — soda
  7. bass — the fish
  8. land — a country
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bear — the animal
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. content — the amount
  15. shower — rain
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. pop — to visit
  19. land — ground
  20. content — happy
  21. bass — low music
  22. roll — a list
  23. land — to come down
  24. shower — to wash

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