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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. ground — a position
  6. march — the month
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. march — music
  13. spell — letters
  14. march — the month
  15. dip — to sink
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. ground — the earth
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rash — a series
  22. ground — crushed
  23. spell — magic
  24. nail — on a finger

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