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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. pop — to visit
  3. club — for dancing
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — music
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. chest — of your body
  10. plane — a tool
  11. shower — rain
  12. track — a path
  13. track — to keep track
  14. club — for golf
  15. band — a music group
  16. track — a song
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. shower — to wash
  20. chest — of your body
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. club — a group
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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