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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. track — a path
  5. track — a song
  6. last — final
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — finally
  9. capital — money
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. ball — a dance
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. pop — soda
  18. pop — music
  19. pop — to visit
  20. track — to keep track
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. capital — a city
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. ball — a great time

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