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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. ball — a great time
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. spell — magic
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pitch — completely
  9. spell — a short time
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a music group
  12. ball — a dance
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. mate — a partner
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. spell — letters
  17. wound — an injury
  18. plane — a tool
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. mate — a friend
  21. band — a ring
  22. mate — to breed
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. plane — in geometry

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