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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. ground — a position
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. tube — a container
  8. ground — the earth
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. pop — to visit
  11. row — a line
  12. ground — crushed
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. chest — of your body
  17. band — a ring
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pop — soda
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. band — a music group
  22. tube — the underground
  23. row — to paddle
  24. chest — a box

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