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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. rash — hasty
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. root — the cause
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. game — wild animals
  11. hand — in cards
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of a king
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. hand — help
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. root — of a word
  18. craft — a skill
  19. rash — a series
  20. game — a match
  21. root — of a plant
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. court — of law
  24. craft — boats

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