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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. spring — of water
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. game — a match
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. land — to come down
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. cell — in biology
  11. land — ground
  12. cell — a phone
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. bore — to drill
  17. shower — to wash
  18. spring — the season
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. spring — a coil
  21. land — a country
  22. bore — to tire
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. cell — in a prison

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