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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. spell — a short time
  3. fine — high quality
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. fine — all right
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. spell — letters
  9. bark — to shout
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — the sport
  20. bat — the animal
  21. squash — to crush
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. spell — magic

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