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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: suit · cold · band · bowl · pop · chest · sharp · squash

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. pop — music
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. chest — a box
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. sharp — clever
  8. chest — of your body
  9. band — a ring
  10. suit — to fit
  11. suit — in cards
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. suit — clothes
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. squash — the sport
  18. band — a music group
  19. squash — to crush
  20. chest — of your body
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. pop — soda
  24. bowl — a football final

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