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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. spell — letters
  3. kid — child
  4. swing — in golf
  5. pop — soda
  6. mark — a grade
  7. swing — to play on
  8. march — music
  9. spell — magic
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — a coil
  13. mark — a trace
  14. track — a path
  15. track — a song
  16. track — to keep track
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pop — to visit
  21. kid — to tease
  22. spell — a short time
  23. swing — music
  24. mark — to pay attention

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