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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. cap — of ice
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. mark — a trace
  6. cap — a hat
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. bulb — for light
  9. hand — in cards
  10. march — music
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. march — the month
  13. bulb — for light
  14. march — the month
  15. hand — help
  16. cap — a lid
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. mark — a grade

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