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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. band — a music group
  3. chest — of your body
  4. spell — letters
  5. band — a ring
  6. spell — magic
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. land — a country
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. chest — a box
  11. land — to come down
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. content — the amount
  14. lie — to recline
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pop — soda
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — happy
  19. pop — to visit
  20. land — ground
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. deal — to handle
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. spell — a short time

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