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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. bear — the animal
  3. hand — in cards
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. object — to protest
  10. file — a document
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. file — a tool
  13. rush — hurry
  14. cold — not warm
  15. file — a line of people
  16. pop — to visit
  17. bear — the animal
  18. object — a thing
  19. cold — an illness
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. hand — help
  22. object — an aim
  23. pop — soda
  24. nail — for a hammer

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