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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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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: spell · rock · fork · lie · bulb · cold · rest · pop

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. lie — to recline
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. rock — music
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bulb — for light
  8. rock — a stone
  9. pop — to visit
  10. rest — a break
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. bulb — for light
  13. spell — a short time
  14. cold — not warm
  15. fork — in a road
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. spell — magic
  18. pop — soda
  19. cold — an illness
  20. spell — letters
  21. rest — what's left
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. cold — the Cold War

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