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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cue — for pool
  7. capital — a city
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. perch — the fish
  12. rash — a series
  13. cell — a phone
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. spring — the season
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. rush — hurry
  20. cue — a signal
  21. capital — money
  22. rash — hasty
  23. cue — a hint
  24. spring — of water

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