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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. track — a song
  4. game — wild animals
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. root — of a word
  9. spring — the season
  10. rush — hurry
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. track — a path
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. spring — a coil
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. game — a match
  17. spring — of water
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. root — of a plant
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. track — to keep track
  24. root — the cause

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