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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pop — music
  3. rest — a break
  4. fall — to drop
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. spell — a short time
  7. root — of a word
  8. ball — a great time
  9. rest — what's left
  10. shower — to wash
  11. pop — to visit
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — letters
  15. rest — what's left
  16. fall — to drop
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. shower — rain
  19. ball — a dance
  20. fall — the season
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. root — of a plant
  23. root — the cause
  24. hide — to keep secret

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