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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a great time
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pit — a hole
  16. pit — in a race
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. bore — to tire
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. cell — a phone
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. ball — a round shape

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