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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. mate — to breed
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. mate — a partner
  7. bat — the animal
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pop — soda
  12. swing — to play on
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. mate — a friend
  16. swing — music
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. dip — to sink
  19. rash — hasty
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. rash — a series
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. swing — in golf

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