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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. pop — soda
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. pop — music
  6. bound — certain
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. bound — tied together
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. mine — for digging
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — for sport
  13. cap — of ice
  14. court — of law
  15. pop — to visit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wake — a trail
  18. bound — obliged
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. sharp — clever
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. prune — to trim
  24. cap — a hat

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