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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. object — an aim
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rock — a stone
  5. object — to protest
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — of water
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rock — music
  12. pop — music
  13. net — for catching
  14. ground — the earth
  15. pop — soda
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. net — after costs
  18. object — a thing
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — crushed
  22. spring — a coil
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. net — in sport

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