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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. swing — to play on
  3. rock — a stone
  4. craft — a skill
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — a country
  8. spring — the season
  9. lean — to bend
  10. swing — in golf
  11. chest — of your body
  12. spring — of water
  13. chest — a box
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pop — music
  17. swing — music
  18. craft — boats
  19. spring — a coil
  20. lean — thin
  21. land — ground
  22. pop — soda
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. rock — music

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