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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 120 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pop — music
  4. rest — what's left
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. scale — in music
  7. rest — what's left
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a line of people
  10. mine — for digging
  11. kick — in football
  12. can — to be able to
  13. can — a tin
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. scale — size or range
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. rest — a break
  19. file — a tool
  20. pop — soda
  21. pop — to visit
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. can — a tin
  24. kick — a thrill

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