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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. pop — soda
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. present — a gift
  5. cap — a hat
  6. pop — music
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. saw — the tool
  9. present — the time now
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cap — of ice
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. pop — to visit
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. rash — hasty
  19. branch — a division
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. rash — a series
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. saw — the tool
  24. present — there

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