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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. ball — a dance
  3. degree — an amount
  4. content — the amount
  5. ball — a great time
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. squash — the sport
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. squash — to crush
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. spring — the season
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. spring — a coil
  15. content — happy
  16. spring — of water
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. degree — temperature
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. degree — from a university

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