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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 120 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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. lean — to bend
  3. rest — what's left
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. drill — army training
  6. game — wild animals
  7. spell — letters
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. game — a match
  10. drill — the tool
  11. cell — in biology
  12. drill — a practice
  13. spell — magic
  14. spring — the season
  15. cell — a phone
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. lean — thin
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. spell — a short time
  20. rest — what's left
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — of water
  23. rest — a break
  24. lean — to rest against

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