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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. spell — a short time
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. spell — letters
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. club — for golf
  11. club — for dancing
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. cell — a phone
  15. mine — for digging
  16. kid — child
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. club — a group
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. cell — in biology
  22. kid — to tease
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. ruler — for measuring

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