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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bat — the animal
  3. object — a thing
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. spell — letters
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. object — to protest
  9. track — to keep track
  10. track — a song
  11. object — an aim
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. spell — magic
  14. track — a path
  15. mine — for digging
  16. spell — a short time
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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