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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. spring — of water
  3. bore — to tire
  4. craft — a skill
  5. spring — the season
  6. bore — to drill
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. rock — a stone
  9. game — wild animals
  10. ball — a dance
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. rock — music
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. capital — money
  15. craft — boats
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. spring — a coil
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. game — a match
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. ball — a great time
  24. rock — to move gently

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