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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. ground — a position
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. pop — music
  7. swing — in golf
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. ground — crushed
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. ground — the earth
  14. prune — to trim
  15. content — happy
  16. prune — to trim
  17. pop — soda
  18. pop — to visit
  19. swing — to play on
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. content — the amount
  24. swing — 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