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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 light ________________ burned out.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bulb — for light
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. club — for golf
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. spell — letters
  8. spell — a short time
  9. bulb — for light
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. spell — magic
  12. capital — a city
  13. pass — a permit
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. club — for dancing
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. capital — money
  19. club — a group
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. perch — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bowl — a football final

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