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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 116 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. capital — money
  3. cap — a lid
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. fine — all right
  6. row — to paddle
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. row — a line
  10. cap — a hat
  11. capital — a city
  12. saw — the tool
  13. cap — of ice
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. saw — the tool
  17. fine — high quality
  18. fine — a penalty

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