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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. land — ground
  3. march — music
  4. court — for sport
  5. march — the month
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. land — to come down
  12. court — of law
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. court — of a king
  16. march — the month
  17. land — a country
  18. sharp — clever

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