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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. land — to come down
  7. spell — magic
  8. swing — music
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. perch — the fish
  11. land — ground
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. can — to be able to
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — to play on
  19. saw — the tool
  20. can — a tin
  21. land — a country
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. can — a tin
  24. spell — letters

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