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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 124 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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. pop — music
  4. club — for dancing
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. rock — a stone
  7. club — a group
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. spring — the season
  10. wound — an injury
  11. stem — to come from
  12. wound — an injury
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. spring — a coil
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. pop — to visit
  21. spring — of water
  22. rock — music
  23. pop — soda
  24. club — for golf

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