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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 116 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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. pop — soda
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. ball — a great time
  8. pop — to visit
  9. ball — a dance
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. pound — a weight
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. field — farmland
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. sharp — clever
  17. hand — in cards
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. mine — for digging
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. hand — help
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. mine — an explosive

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