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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. spring — a coil
  3. saw — the tool
  4. spring — the season
  5. bound — certain
  6. squash — to crush
  7. ground — a position
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. wax — to grow
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — a series
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. bound — tied together
  20. saw — the tool
  21. ground — the earth
  22. spring — of water
  23. squash — the sport
  24. bound — obliged

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