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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. spell — magic
  4. track — a song
  5. cap — a lid
  6. fork — in a road
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. spell — letters
  9. cap — a hat
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. pop — to visit
  12. spell — a short time
  13. cap — of ice
  14. saw — the tool
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. plane — a tool
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. pop — soda
  20. saw — the tool
  21. track — to keep track
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. track — a path

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