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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. bulb — for light
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. ball — a dance
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. fine — high quality
  10. clip — a video
  11. rash — a series
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. rash — hasty
  16. clip — for paper
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. fine — all right
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bulb — for light
  23. ball — a great time
  24. mine — for digging

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