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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. scale — size or range
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. spell — magic
  8. kick — in football
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. march — the month
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. march — music
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. row — a line
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. spell — a short time
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. scale — in music
  19. deal — to handle
  20. spell — letters
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. row — to paddle
  24. march — the month

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