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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. mate — to breed
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. press — a publisher
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a ring
  7. press — newspapers
  8. pop — to visit
  9. press — to push
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rash — hasty
  14. land — a country
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. land — to come down
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. rash — a series
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — a partner
  22. pop — soda
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. land — ground

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