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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. ball — a dance
  3. shower — to wash
  4. band — a music group
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. last — finally
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. last — to go on
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — a practice
  11. ground — crushed
  12. face — part of the head
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — to confront
  16. band — a ring
  17. last — final
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — rain
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. drill — army training
  22. ball — a great time
  23. ground — a position
  24. ground — the earth

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