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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. pop — to visit
  3. ball — a great time
  4. row — a line
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — tied together
  11. pop — soda
  12. bound — obliged
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. bore — to drill
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. roll — a list
  20. ball — a dance
  21. pop — music
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. row — to paddle
  24. capital — a city

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