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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. spell — magic
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. scale — in music
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. scale — size or range
  14. spell — letters
  15. shower — rain
  16. toast — bread
  17. shower — to wash
  18. spell — a short time

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