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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. game — wild animals
  4. pass — a permit
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. court — for sport
  8. spell — letters
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — a division
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. spell — a short time
  17. court — of a king
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bark — to shout
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. spell — magic
  22. game — a match
  23. saw — the tool
  24. court — of law

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