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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  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. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. wound — an injury
  5. spell — letters
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. cue — a hint
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. spell — a short time
  10. pit — in a race
  11. land — ground
  12. pit — a hole
  13. cue — for pool
  14. kick — in football
  15. land — to come down
  16. swing — music
  17. swing — to play on
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. land — a country
  20. cue — a signal
  21. wound — an injury
  22. swing — in golf
  23. kick — a thrill
  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