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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 120 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. ball — a dance
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. season — in sport
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bore — to drill
  8. last — finally
  9. ball — a great time
  10. bore — to tire
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. stock — shares
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. season — of the year
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — final
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. hand — help

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