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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. fine — all right
  3. land — ground
  4. mate — to breed
  5. bore — to tire
  6. fine — high quality
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — a friend
  9. land — a country
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. land — to come down
  14. race — humankind
  15. current — electric
  16. pop — soda
  17. bat — the animal
  18. race — a contest
  19. current — happening now
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. pop — to visit
  22. current — of water
  23. bore — to drill
  24. race — the arms race

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