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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — a short time
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. capital — money
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. bore — to tire
  11. track — a path
  12. track — to keep track
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. capital — a city
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. spell — magic
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bore — to drill
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. track — a song

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