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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. rest — what's left
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — in sport
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. band — a music group
  8. season — of the year
  9. net — for catching
  10. mark — a grade
  11. capital — money
  12. shower — rain
  13. rest — what's left
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. capital — a city
  18. mark — a trace
  19. shower — to wash
  20. net — in sport
  21. band — a ring
  22. net — after costs
  23. rest — a break
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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