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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 116 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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. spell — letters
  3. spring — of water
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. can — to be able to
  6. spring — the season
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. can — a tin
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. shower — rain
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. spell — magic
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — to wash
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. wound — an injury
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. wound — an injury
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. spell — a short time

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