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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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. net — in sport
  4. mine — for digging
  5. capital — money
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. net — after costs
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — letters
  12. net — for catching
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bore — to tire
  15. stem — to come from
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. foot — a measure
  21. capital — a city
  22. bore — to drill
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. foot — part of the body

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