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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. cap — a hat
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. band — a music group
  7. swing — to play on
  8. fall — to drop
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. row — to paddle
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. fall — to drop
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. swing — music
  16. fall — the season
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. band — a ring
  19. row — a line
  20. cap — of ice
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. swing — in golf
  24. cap — a lid

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