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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 116 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. cap — a lid
  3. hand — in cards
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. drill — a practice
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. drill — the tool
  11. fall — to drop
  12. wound — an injury
  13. drill — army training
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — of ice
  17. ball — a great time
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. ball — a dance
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. hand — help

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